Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles
by Babylon Sky Hawk
Summary: One year has passed and the Order is prepared to make their final move. But interfernce emerges as Shadow begins to question his existence and dreams of a mysterious blue hedgehog holding a Keyblade.
1. Cast List

** Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

Sonic the Hedgehog © Sonic Team/Sega  
Kingdom Hearts © Square Enix  
All future references © Original Creators

Cast List

* * *

**Main Cast**

Sora – Sonic the Hedgehog

Donald – Silver the Hedgehog

Goofy – Storm the Albatross

Extra Character – Experiment 624/Angel

Extra Character – Marine the Raccoon

Kairi – Amy Rose

Riku – Espio the Chameleon

Roxas – Shadow the Hedgehog

Namine – Kumori the Hedgehog

King Mickey – Jet the Hawk

* * *

**Secondary Characters**

Hayner – Knuckles the Echidna

Pence – Miles 'Tails' Prower

Olette – Rouge the Bat

DiZ – ZoN

Ansem – Mephiles

Extra Character – Lily the Heartless

Extra Character – Tomo the Chameleon

Yen Sid – Master Nyrox

Leon – Metal Sonic

Yuffie – Cream the Rabbit

Aerith – Tikal the Echidna

Cid – E-123 Omega

Tifa – Mecha Shadow

Extra Character – Emerl the Gizoid

Cloud – Chaos

Merlin – Shahra the Ring Genie

* * *

**Higher Powers**

Arceus – Leader

Mata Nui – Second-in-command

Fanglongmon

Exodia

Malefor – Former Member

Pein – Former Member

Black Doom – Former Member

* * *

**Villains**

Heartless – Same

Nobodies – Same

Maleficent – Black Doom

Pete – Dr. Eggman

Jafar – Ganondorf

Hades – Broly

Ursula – Makuta Teridax

Oogie Boogie –Lord Voldemort

Shan-Yu – Beelzemon

Barbossa – Xehanort's Heartless

Scar – Cynder

Sark – Bass

MCP – Gospel

Extra Villain – B.R.A.I.N.

* * *

**Worlds**

Disney Castle – Babylon Garden

100 Acre Woods – Chao Garden

Space Paranoids – Navi Network

Atlantica – Karda Nui

Extra World – The Emptiness

Beast's Castle – Amegakure

Agrabah – Hyrule

Halloween Town – Hogwarts

Pride Lands – Dragon Realms

Olympus Coliseum – Budokai

Land of Dragons – Digital World

Port Royal – Destiny Islands

Twilight Town – Soleanna

Hollow Bastion – Same

The World That Never Was – Same

* * *

**Order XIII**

I. Xemnas –? : The Superior of the In-Between

II. Xigbar –? : Sadistic Spawn

III. Xaldin – Pein: Sage of Rebirth

IV. Vexen – Mewtwo: Cloned Telepath (deceased)

V. Lexaeus – Erazor Djinn: Cursed Spirit (deceased)

VI. Zexion – Oracle the Jackal: Looming Prophet (deceased)

VII. Siax –? : Venomous Serpent

VIII. Axel –Terro the Bat: Deceptive Rogue

IX. Demyx –? : Tainted Deity

X. Luxord –? : Genetic Beast

XI. Marluxia – Duskmon: Shadowed Wraith (deceased)

XII. Larxene – Roodaka: Cruel Temptress (deceased)

XIII. Roxas – Shadow the Hedgehog : Key of Destiny


	2. Prologue: A New Awakening

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

Prologue: A New Awakening

There comes a time in ever man's life where they must make a choice down their life. For some, that choice comes easy. But to others, they are left with an impossible outcome. But no one would have expected the choice of one boy to the fate of all worlds. A boy, chosen by the legendary Keyblade, was the key to either salvation or destruction. And the last thing he remembered, the chosen hero was left on a crossroad between the four paths: Light, Darkness, Dawn, and Twilight.

_A scattered dram that's like a far-off memory  
A far-off memory that's like a scattered dream  
I wanna line the pieces up – yours and mine_

* * *

The scene opens to a secluded beach off the coast of a plentiful island. The sun was setting over the horizon, the waves of the endless sea were lapping against the shore, and a single girl was tinkering in the sand. The girl held the object in her hand to the sun and admired her work: a set of seashells shaped like a star.

_**I need more affection than you know**_

As the sun closed over the everlasting seas, three friends were gathered around a bending tree that bared golden, star-shaped fruits. In between his two friends was a young and vibrant hedgehog with cobalt-blue fur, six quills pointed outwards, and glistening emerald eyes. He wore red/white sneakers with golden buckles and simple white gloves. Sonic the Hedgehog was enjoying the peace, unaware of the destiny that awaited him.

To his right was the person that was held most precious to his heart. A younger hedgehog girl with rosy-pink fur, shoulder-length quills, and three bangs sticking from her forehead. She wore a vivid-red dress with white trimming at the hem, white gloves with golden ring bracelets, high red boots with a white strip down the middle, and a red headband. Amy Rose was so sweet and innocent that no one would expect her to be the daughter of a great evil.

To Sonic's left was his best friend and eternal rival. He was a violet-purple chameleon a year older than his friend with a golden horn on his forehead, a curled tail, and a row of black spikes down his spine. He wore deep-purple shoes with black straps across, white gloves with hidden compartments on his wrists, and bandages wrapped around his ankles. Espio the Chameleon showed such promise, but fell so far from the light.

The trio watched as the light began to fade and Sonic expression turned grim. As the sun began to dim, Amy and Espio vanished from his sight as they were taken by the darkness. The sun had set – it was time to leave.

_**In you and I there's a new land**_

Sonic landed on the stone fragment within the upturned falls and summoned his weapon as the enemy began to emerge. The Keyblade was a steel sword that greatly resembled an enlarged key with a golden guard around the handle. The darkness of the Heartless was powerful, but Sonic was determined to rescue his friends from the corridors of Hollow Bastion. The looked from side to side and smiled as the friend he had met remained at his side. The Keyblade Master jumped within the hordes of Shadows.

_**Angels in flight  
I need more affection than you know  
A sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah**_

Sonic screech to a halt and stared between the golden gate and Amy lying unconscious on the floor. His feelings overruled his senses and the Keyblade Master dashed to her side. Despite the much urgency for her to wake, Amy remained frail and unmoving as ever. It was only from this point Sonic sensed the overwhelming darkness swelling close to the heart-shaped portal.

Espio turned away from the heart of darkness and smirked malevolently to his old friend, displaying his decent to evil. He wore a navy-blue body suit with red thread acting as the gloves and a black hearts emblem over his chest. He was also clothed in black, knee-high boots, a blue belt, and a tattered white cape around his waist. The dark chameleon held out his hand, taunting the chosen warrior with a sense of superiority.

_**Where fears and lies melt away  
Music will tie  
I need more affection than you know**_

The two warriors clashed. For one moment, it seemed that the possessed Espio had the upper hand, but Sonic pushed him away and turned the battle in his favor. And at that instant, Espio faded from sight and the true master of the Heartless had revealed himself. A tall and proud warrior with the body shape of a hedgehog that was composed of equal parts crystal and shadows – his demonic-green eyes pierced the Keyblade Master. He was adorned with a flowing silver coat and a necklace shaped like the Heartless emblem around his neck.

Mephiles, the Seeker of Darkness, watched the Keyblade Master interestingly and even glanced at his daughter for one moment. Sonic felt outraged that the dark demon showed no concern for his own child's safety. The Keyblade Master and Seeker of Darkness charged ahead to determine the fate of the worlds.

_**What's left of me, what's left of me now**_

The Door to Darkness released its hidden light, ending the terror of Mephiles. Espio elected to stay behind, requesting his best friend to watch over Amy. Sonic willingly stabbed himself with the Darkblade in order to free his beloved's heart. Amy held tight to the reformed Keyblade Master, never wanting to let him go.

Amy finds herself back on the shores of Destiny Islands, but without her fiends to ease her sense of loneliness.

_**I watch you  
Fast asleep  
All I fear means nothing**_

A glimmer of small light fell and night overcame the island. Soon that one sparkle multiplied into a shower of glittering lights as the islands and the rest of the worlds were saved from the Heartless. But at what price? Off in the distance, Amy could see Sonic shouted some unheard words before he faded away with Kingdom Hearts. That was the last time she had ever seen Sonic or Espio, but she never lost hope.

_**In you and I there's a new land  
Angels in flight  
I need more affection than you know  
A sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah**_

Three hundred and fifty-eight days had passed since then – Amy counted them all. She had grown considerably during the time of their absence. She had at least grown a few inches taller with her quills reaching past her shoulders And her bangs creeping closer to her eyes. She wore a white/pink tank top, pink slacks with white stripes, red/white sneakers, white gloves with red/yellow sweatbands, and her signature red headband.

_**Where fears and lies melt away  
Music will tie  
I need more affection than you know  
What's left of me, what's left of me**_

But as Amy continued to wait, trouble was brewing in the realm between light and darkness. Trapped within an enclosed room, a young girl was playing with a deck of cards and staring at their pictures. She was a black hedgehog with red highlights flowing down her quills. She wore a sleeveless white Chinese shirt with the symbol of eternal on the back, gloves with silver ring bracelets, white and red shoes, white trousers with black stripes, and a grey chain around her neck. She drew the next card – Sonic's perils were only becoming worse.

_**So many ups and downs  
My heart's a battleground  
I need true emotions**_

Sonic swung his Keyblade left and right as more Heartless continued to block his path. But no matter how many he took out, a hundred more would always take their place. Just when the hedgehog hero seemed ready to give him, his team stepped in front and paved a path for him.

The first of his friends was his mentor. He was a grey hedgehog with five quills from his forehead, two longer quills in the back, and white fur mane that reached around his neck. He wore white gloves with teal circles, golden cuffs on his wrists and ankles, and a pair of white, navy, and teal colored boots. Silver the Hedgehog thrusted his fists forward, pushing the Heartless back with his thoughts.

The next warrior was a large grey albatross with three spiked feathers, white feathers covering his chest, and darker grey shade feathers shaped like a flame on his right wrist. The albatross wore tan glove with a metal loop, black and white sneaker with yellow straps, small beige goggles, and a tribal necklace. He was assisted by a small, pink koala-like creature with two long tendril-like violet-tipped antennae, violet-tipped ears, and a white V-shaped symbol her chest. Storm and Angel made the ultimate tag-team.

The last member was wild and rambunctious, which made her difficult to capture. She was a raccoon girl with orange fur and brown stripes with two strands held by a pair of gold rings and two scars over her right eye. She wore a green sleeveless shirt, black shorts, tan gloves, and green and orange shoes. Marine the Raccoon laughed playfully before blasting the Heartless with her emerald energy.

_**I need more affection than you know  
I need true emotions**_

For one moment, Sonic claimed he had seen two characters wearing black cloaks. One of them had an uncountable number of bandages covering her face with the exception of her mouth – one red cloth covered her eyes. The other figure kept his hood over his eyes, but Sonic felt he had met his somewhere before – his power was unfathomable. But the Keyblade Master was forced out of his reverie once realizing his final opponent was standing before him.

The traitor of the Order stared ominously with a sadistic expression. The shadowed warrior's face was covered by a black helmet with blond hair escaping from the back and three ruby gems pressed into his helmet. He wore a of pure black armor with red plating along his legs, arms, and his ribcage with blaring-red eyeballs on his feet, kneecaps, shoulders, with the largest resting over his chest. His skulled hands released two jagged, crimson swords as they prepared themselves for battle.

Sonic and Duskmon clashed back and forth, unaware of the battle present several levels below them. Espio staggered backwards as Mephiles held out the darkness contained in his hands. On both sides, it was a duel of wills, and only one would emerge victorious.

_**You show me how to see  
That nothing is whole  
And nothing is broken**_

Sonic had reached the final leg of his journey, but his victory was short-lived. Kumori watched with ingrown sorrow as her hero of the light drifted absentmindedly in the capsule that contained him. The Keyblade Master dreamed peacefully – his thoughts on the home he had left behind.

_**In you and I there's a new land  
Angels in flight  
I need more affection than you know  
A sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah**_

Kumori solemnly rested her deck on the table, deciding to let fate take its own course. Within the safety of his dreams, Sonic was sleeping on the warm beach of the islands with Amy and Espio on either side of him, hand-in-hand, as the sunset over the horizon.

_**Where fears and lies melt away  
Music will tie  
I need more affection than you know  
What's left of me, what's left of me now**_

The scene shatters and a new character drifted deeper into the unknown depths. He was a jet-black hedgehog with six quills pointed curved upwards – red highlights on each – and a tuft of white hair of his chest. His clothing consisted of black /white shoes with red trims at the bottom, golden ring cuffs on his ankles and wrists, a pair of white gloves, a spiked 'X' chain around his neck, and a pair of emerald lensed sunglasses above his eyes.

_**My fears, my lies  
Melt away**_

The black hedgehog awoke from his slumber and landed on unseen ground. He seemed equally confused and sacred as he took his first step into the great unknown. A brilliant light exploded from where he stood and hundred of white doves emerged from the ground and into the unseen sky. The hedgehog watched enviously as they took off for a new home.

**_I need more affection than you know_**

* * *

A dark beach existed between the realms of light and darkness, untouched by either force. The eternal moon was reflected off the cool surface of the water without a trace of wind controlling its directions. Many fragmented rocks coated the scenery, and the Superior took his place on the one closest to the water. He appeared to be waiting for something, but his waited was soon to be ended. A portal of darkness surfaced a few yards away and expelled a man where the Black Cloak. He walked across the dark sand, alerting the Superior of his appearance.

"You have arrived." The Superior acknowledged; the figure moved closer. "I've been to see him. He look's a lot like you."

"Who are you?" The figure asked.

"I'm all that's left." The Superior stated. "Or maybe, I'm all there ever was."

"I meant you name." The figure said impatiently.

"My name is of no importance." The Superior claimed. "But what about you? Do you remember you true name?"

"My true name...is..."

* * *

"Sonic?"

Sonic woke up on the beach of his island, safe from the shadows that were haunting his dreams. He stared out to the crashing waters at his feet and yawn loudly before falling back to peace. However, he only shot straight back up when he saw a –

~183192~

"Whoa!" Sonic exclaimed and turned. "Give me a break, A –

~112921~

Sonic and Espio raced down the shore as the older warrior teased his friend. The blue hedgehog was determined not to lose, but couldn't help feel distracted. He turn back to check on –

~936036~

"If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?" Espio asked

~836304~

Sonic pulled back for a moment to admire the new addition to old drawing. But within moments, he felt a sudden chill run down his spine and turned towards the cave entrance. A tall figure wearing a dirty-brown cloak stood in the way of the hedgehog's only exit – Sonic had never seen him before.

"This world has been connected." The figure stated.

"Wh-who's there?" Sonic stammered

"Tied to the darkness." The figure continued uninterrupted.

~364927~

"Sonic, don't ever change."

~365482~

"The door has opened." Espio proclaimed.

Sonic watched in horror as a portal of darkness opened up beneath his best friend, slowly dragging him away. The cobalt hedgehog tried to reach out for him, but the shadows were bent on keeping them separate.

~530672~

"You understand nothing." The figure claimed

Sonic turned back to the remaining fragment of the island and his sight drifted to the creature above. The Darkside glowered impatiently and waved its hands closer to the flaming core in the sky.

~482047~

The empty door blasted open as a powerful gust of shadows exploded into the cave. Sonic attempted to resist the darkness, but his main concern fell on the girl flying towards him. He opened his arms and hoped to catch her, but she faded from existence at the very moment. That was the last time he heard her voice before he was shunned from his home.

"So...nic..."

* * *

**The past journeys sets the stage of the final chapter. What has become of Sonic and his friends in the previous year? How have Amy and Espio fared during this time of hardship? And who is this new character that appears during this time? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	3. The Missing Word

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter One: The Missing Word

The scene opens to a small room while its young owner continued to dream peacefully. But even the blissful pleasure of sleep needs to end at some point. As dawn approached, the sun began to rise over the window of a specific household, shedding light onto the sleeping figure within. The room inside only contained essential needs: a desk, a bookshelf, two lamps, a closet, and a single bed. The owner of the home was stirring, trying to block out the light of the sun. The jet-black hedgehog moaned, forcing himself to accept that the morning had come. The unknown character sat up on his bed, shaking his untidy quills and staring at the opposite wall in thought.

"Another dream about him." The hedgehog murmured. Following the rays of the sun, the black hedgehog sat up and pushed the windows open, allowing the warmth to enter his household. He leaned against the windowsill, watching the effects of the sunlight reflecting against the canals between the streets. He wasn't apparently the only one that had risin this early as shop owners began setting up their stands for the tourists that would surely arrive. The black hedgehog looked closer north to the city, where the castle of Elise the 3rd watched over her people – he still promised to give her a day to visit the town.

* * *

**---Soleanna---**

Later that day, the black hedgehog had dressed himself accordingly and met his friends at their usual spot. The usual spot was an open spaced section of the town that Princess Elise gave for their use only, so they had no fear of thieves. It was a small warehouse close to the edge of the city that had formally been used to store goods. The group within had made themselves comfortable with the small housing as a vast majority of random items were scattered everywhere. The black hedgehog looked between his friends, sighing uncomfortably.

The leader of the group was lying on the rafters – his leg swing back and forth over the edge. He was a cherry-red echidna with a number of dreadlocks touching his shoulders and a crescent moon birthmark on his chest. His attire consisted of scarlet-red shoes with yellow laces, finger-linked gloves with spiked knuckles, and a pair of moss-green goggles around his neck.

The youngest of the group was leaning against the second story railing, talking with the gruff warrior. He was a lightning-yellow fox with three bangs sticking from his forehead and, surprisingly, two tails. He wore a pair of red/white sneakers held by Velcro straps, a pair of white gloves restricted by metallic bracelets, and a pair of dark-lensed goggles on his forehead.

And the only female was sitting on a moth-eaten couch, reading a magazine. She was a pearl-white bat with petit, black wings and silky hair that reached to her shoulders. Her outfit was more used to flaunt her cleavage with her small, black tank top, black pants with white floral printing, a pair of white elbow-length gloves, and red/white sneakers. She was trying to ignore the yelling between her friends as the black hedgehog took his usual seat on the stack of boxes.

"Man, I can't tell you how pissed I am!" Knuckles yelled furiously.

"How could they do this to us?" Tails replied disappointedly.

"I agree that Zeenint has gone too far this time." Rouge commented, turning the page in her magazine. "But there's no point in crying about it."

"It just makes me so mad." Knuckles growled. He jumped from the rafters, landing perfectly on his feet, and stated pacing around the warehouse. "I mean, it's true that stuff's been stolen around town. And there's a fact that the Kingdom Knights and the Soleanna Signers are archenemies. So if Zeenint wants to think we did it, I can't really blame him. See...that's not what really bugs me."

"What Zeenint is doing is totally unfair." Tails said; he used his twin tails to glide down to the floor. "He's going around town, telling everyone we're the thieves. Now the whole town and their mothers are treating us like the klepto club."

"That's my point exactly!" Knuckles snarled. "Have you ever been this pissed off in your life?! Because I haven't!"

"That's what you said last week, knucklehead." Rouge giggled.

"It's like Rouge said – there's no point in crying about it." Shadow stated sternly. "If we want to clear our name, we'll have to find the real thieves ourselves. We can't ask Elise to defend us – she's already done enough."

"This should be good." Tails grinned. "I better bring my camera for this."

"What about Zeenint?" Knuckles asked stubbornly as Tail ran off into the corner.

"First, we gotta clear our names." Shadow said strictly. "Once we find the real culprit, everyone will get off our backs. And then we can take care off Zeenint and the Signers."

"Oh no!" The Kingdom Knights jumped and faced their youngest member, who was holding an open camera. "They're gone! All our ___ are gone!"

"All our ___, gone?!" Knuckles exclaimed, shocking himself.

"Hey, we can't say ___." Rouge said worried. "What the hell is going on here?"

"But you do understand what I'm saying, right?" Tails asked hopefully. "Our ___ are gone!"

"Stolen..." Shadow murmured thoughtfully. "And not just the ___. The word ___, they stole it, too."

"What kind of thief can steal words?" Knuckles questioned. "Not even Zeenint could pull of something like that. All right, I think it's time for some recon. Let's search the town and dig up anything we can find."

The group nodded and raced out of the factory, hoping to clear their good names. Shadow was the last to follow behind. Before he could even take his first step, a pulsating force surged through his head, causing the hedgehog to collapse to his knees. For one spare moment, the world turned dark and a feminine voice echoed through the depths.

"_His heart is returning. Doubtless, he will awaken very soon._"

And then the world returned to Shadow's vision. The ebony hedgehog shook his head as the overwhelming vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. Shadow stared around the warehouse, wondering whom the feminine voice belonged to. Rouge was the only female that every entered their secret spot and the voice was too mature to be hers. Speaking of whom, the white bat glide back into the warehouse, looking plainly irritated.

"Shadow, what's taking you." Rouge questioned impatiently. "It was your idea, so we expect you to play your part."

The ebony hedgehog was still curious about the unknown voice, but he wasn't given much of a choice as Rouge literally dragged him into town. The two Kingdom Knights trekked down the canal streets, seeing shop owners glare at them with untrustworthy expressions. It was hard to believe that just yesterday, these same people were treating them like heroes. Shadow doubt that even Elise could defend them without losing the faith of her people. The duo found Knuckles and Tails standing in front of a clothing shop stand – the hotheaded echidna was yelling with the shop owner.

"I keep telling you!" Knuckles growled as they approached. "We didn't do anything!"

"I would have expected this kind of thing from you Knuckles." The shop owner glared. "But I always thought Shadow was a decent guy. I guess it's true what they say about bad seeds."

"You filthy, little...!" Knuckles screamed.

"I think that's enough from you." Shadow said, watching Rouge smack her boyfriend over the head. "Listen, we haven't stolen anything. All the Soleanna gangs control a sector in the town as long as they follow the rules of equal conduct made by Princess Elise. So why would the Kingdom Knights want to steal something from our own sector."

"You've got me." The shop owner shrugged. "But who else would steal that stuff?"

"What stuff?" Tails asked curiously.

"As if you didn't know." The shop owner huffed. "I'm not gonna waste my time explaining it to you. If you want some answers, go ask Susan at the accessory shop."

Though thoroughly disappointed by their answer, the Kingdom Knights grudgedly left the shop owner to his business. But not before Knuckles chucked a rock at the owner's head before making a run for it. They team of four still endured the glares of the people they trusted as they made their way to the accessory shop down the street. The accessory owner, Susan, was rearranging beaded bracelets when Shadow and the others walked up to her. Surprisingly enough, she didn't seem as the rest of the town. In fact, she was smiling.

"Oh, Shadow, thank goodness you're here." Susan sighed happily. "I know you wouldn't let me down. You're one of my favorite customers – you're even still carrying the ring cuffs I gave you."

"Uh...yeah." Shadow said awkwardly; Rouge and Tails laughed silently in the background. "So...you know that we're not the thieves?"

"Of course I don't." Susan replied. "Someone as gently and sweet as you would never commit such a heinous crime. I'm not as shortsighted as the other people." She touched his hand lovingly. "I know you'll clear you're name, Shadow."

"Uh...thank you." Shadow said hesitantly, pulling back his hand. "Do you know anyone else that might know something about the thief."

"The old lady at the candy shop might." Susan said thoughtfully. "She seemed very sad when she lost them."

"Thanks." Shadow groaned as he walked away.

"You gonna buy her flowers and chocolate?" Rouge smirked playfully.

"Shut up!" Shadow snapped.

To reach the candy shop, the group had to travel all the way to the edge of their sector, close to the territory of their rivaling gang. They met the old lady at the candy shop, only to learn that she wouldn't speak unless she got her cat back. Who knew such a simple job could be so much trouble. The Kingdom Knights were running all across town as the feisty feline outmaneuvered the group at every twist and turn. Some of their exploits included destroy a few shops, smacking into walls, and receiving scratches on their faces from the cat itself. And after fifteen minutes of hunting, the Kingdom Knights looked ready to drop dead as the old woman's cat purred against his master.

"Thank you, children." The old woman smiled. "I always get worried when Tora runs away."

"Put a leash on that thing." Knuckles commented, receiving an elbow to the gut by his girlfriend.

"Listen, did the real thieves steal anything from you, too?" Shadow asked.

"Oh yes, something important." The old woman said sadly. "They took my ___. Those ___ were very precious to me."

"Looks like the culprit is going around steal ___." Tails stated. "And not just___, but the words, too."

"This isn't your average thief." Rouge stated. "I wonder if Zeenint and the Signers know anything about this. They are the ones who started the rumors about us being the thieves."

"Then we better go interrogate them." Shadow said sternly. "Let's hurry to the central plaza."

The Kingdom Knights dashed across town with Tora hissing at their backs – they started running much faster than usual. When they crossed the border from their territory, the fist place to check was the Signer's regular training grounds. The group cautiously wandered into an open plaza with a few benches, a single outdoor café, and a large fountain in the center. And standing on the other end of the plaza was the Signers staring at a notice board. There were only three of them as their leader was absent.

The first was a light-brown hedgehog with jagged black markings streaking along his body, wearing black gloves and black boots with yellow central line. The next one was a golden hound with two bangs on his forehead, wearing white/black sneakers, jet-black jeans, and a black bandanna on his forearm. The last one was a violet-purple tiger with black stripes, wearing a blue vest and jeans, black running shoes, and matching fingerless gloves. As the Kingdom Knights approached, it was the canine that first spotted them.

"Well, look who's back." Damien said, his comrades turned.

"The thieves always return to the scene of the crime." Gemini proclaimed.

"You've got some never coming around here, freaks." Armand growl.

"Who are you calling a freak, freak?" Knuckles glared.

"Nice comeback, knucklehead." A voice said sarcastically.

The Kingdom Knights turned at glared as their archenemy finally surfaced from the shadows. The one known as Zeenint was an emerald-green hedgehog with five pointed quills and a blue opal in his forehead, wearing simple white gloves and black shoes with white stripes. The Kingdom Knight knew he was strong and felt uneasy when the discovered Zeenint's body was covered in scrapes and bruises. The leader of the Soleanna Signers crossed the plaza nonchalantly, sharing mutual glares with Shadow, and stepped in front of his team.

"You can give us back the ___ now." Zeenint said.

"What makes you think we have it?" Rouge questioned.

"That ___ was undeniable proof that we owned you losers." Zeenint said with a proud smirk. "So what did you do? Burn it? Then again, we don't need some ___ to know that you're pathetic washouts."

"How about an instant replay?" Gemini suggested.

"Haha! I like the way you think!" Zeenint laughed rapturously. Both oppositions of the rivaling gangs moved into defensive positions, waiting for one side to make the first move. "I suppose if you get on your knees and beg, I might just let it slide."

The Soleanna Signers laughed at the thought while the Kingdom Knights scowled spitefully. But a great shock came to Knuckles, Rouge, and Tails as Shadow dropped his guard and stepped forward. Zeenint and his followers seemed to find his tactics rather suspicious and did not lower their stances. Then all of a sudden, Shadow kneeled to Zeenint and lowered his head in defeat – the Knights were horrified.

"Shadow, what are you doing?" Knuckles gapped.

"What you all should be doing." Zeenint smirked confidently. "He realizes that you pathetic losers are no match for..."

An eerie period of silence fell over the plaza – the Signers were stunned. When Zeenint wasn't looking, the ebony hedgehog lowered himself to the ground and thrusted his foot to Zeenint's chin. The emerald warrior was thrown off his feet and landed backwards with an audible thud and seemed rather shaken by the sudden strike. He looked up and scowled as Shadow loomed over the fallen hedgehog with a superior smirk on his expression.

"Who's the loser now?" Shadow smirked.

"Boss!" Armand yelled, dashing to his leader's side. "Boss, you're not hurt are ya?" He glared at Shadow spitefully. "That wasn't fair. The boss is still tired from training all day for the tournament and you used a dirty trick."

"You think you can take us on?" Knuckles challenged.

"I know it!" Armand replied, pounding his fist into his palm.

"Armand, stop embarrassing yourself." Zeenint said exasperatedly as he was force to sit up. "We all now for a fact that you stand little chance compared to Shadow. You might be equal to the echidna, but that's only by a small margin." He directed his attention to the ebony hedgehog. "But it's true – I can't fight you at my full potential in this state. We'll have to settle this at the Brawl Tournament."

"What makes you so sure we'll be fighting against each other?" Shadow questioned.

"Of the nineteen Brawling gangs, the Signers and the Knights are the strongest in Soleanna." Zeenint proclaimed. "I have no doubt in my mind that we will meet in the arena."

"And hold that pose." Shadow barely looked over when Tails took a picture of shadow and the fallen leader. "Oh yeah, this is definitely going in the scrapbook."

The Kingdom Knight laughed victoriously, knowing they had obtained the ultimate blackmail against Zeenint. However, not even a moment after the picture was taken, the camera vanished with a blur of silver. Friends and enemies alike followed the silver trail as the true thief was revealed. Shadow didn't know what to call it. The creature partially held the appearance of a slender humanoid wearing a silver bodysuit with thin hands and feet. And at the top of its head, Shadow temporarily caught sight of a strange, yet familiar, symbol: a turned heart with a pointed cross. The creature didn't seem to understand the concept of shape or gravity as it slithered across the air with its body thin like an arrow.

"What the hell was that?!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"Maybe it was the thief." Damien suggested.

"Whatever it is, it's mine." Shadow hissed.

And before anyone had a chance to call him back, Shadow had already given chance.

* * *

The scene alternates to the eastern forest outside the borders of Soleanna. Shadow had followed the unknown thief into the deep brushes and thick trees, wonder what it could possibly benefit from steal ___. Even in his mind, he couldn't say the word. The silver creature curled its body around a thick trunk, staring at the ebony hedgehog, before slithering through the air once more. Shadow had traveled through this forest plenty of times and had a faint idea where it was heading.

"What could that thing be doing at the old ruins?" Shadow asked himself.

The ebony hedgehog followed the trail the silver creature made and, as he had predicted, reached a small clearing in the forest. It was here that he discovered the ancient ruins of the former king's research laboratory, which had slowly decayed as the years went by. Many of the walls had collapsed haphazardly, shattered glass was abundant, moss clings to the stone, and twisted vines entangled themselves in random places. The only thing that was preventing him from entering was the wrought-iron gate and the high wall surrounding the ruins. And that is where he discovered the thief, standing absentmindedly as if waiting for Shadow to arrive.

"All right, enough games!" Shadow shouted sternly. "Who are you?!"

The silver creature said nothing and continued to stare at the angered hedgehog. Once again, Shadow felt something pulsating in his mind, but prevented himself from collapsing. The world faded once again and the voice returned. But unlike last time, this voice had an enthrall tone and Shadow knew it was coming from the silver creature.

"_We have come for you, my liege._"

"What?" Shadow gasped as his vision returned.

A long zippered that was wrapped around its head, released its hold, partially revealing the creature within. A set of jagged teeth was seen beyond the zipper – it was ready to attack.

* * *

**The Thief: ???**

Shadow jumped forward and thrusted his fist towards the silver creatures head. But against all logic, the unknown entity curved its face away from the hedgehog's head. While Shadow was distracted by this anomaly, the thief snaked one of its slender arms around Shadow's leg. The silver entity pulled back, causing the ebony hedgehog to drop to the ground, and tossed Shadow to the wall. Fortunately, Shadow caught himself in midair and landed safely against the wall before kicking back off. This time, Shadow swung his leg around the thief's neckline and suspected that it could curve around the attack. Imagine the shock on his face when the unknown creature retracted its head back into its chest. Shadow landed, stunned as the enigma withdrew its head.

"What are you?" Shadow stammered. "There is no creature alive that can do that."

The silver entity ignored his questioning and stabbed its point hand forward. Reacting fast, Shadow sidestepped and allowed the creatures hand to jab into a nearby tree trunk. Fear was present in the hedgehog's eyes as the thief's hand drilled directly through the trunk. It was only fortunate that Shadow regained his focus as the silver creature stabbed its foot, which skewered the wall when he ducked. The enigmatic thief once again contorted its boy into a spiral and stabbed its remaining two limbs forward, forcing Shadow to roll away. The ebony hedgehog panted and watched the creature regain its usual shape – it was unstoppable.

"This is insane." Shadow groaned. "How am I supposed to beat something that can change it's body shape at will?"

The silver enigma stepped forward lightly, preparing for the final blow. Then all of a sudden, a ring of electrical rings appeared around Shadow's hand, throwing both opponents off guard. There was a momentary flash of light and the hedgehog's hand felt much heavier than normal. He looked down and discovered something very unusual, despite the current situation. He was wielding a silver sword shaped like a key with a golden guard around the handle, and a keychain shaped like a spiked ball. For reason's unknown, the key weapon was trying to pull its new master to the silver creature.

"What...what is this thing?" Shadow asked shockingly.

The silver creature hissed at the appearance of the weapon and jabbed its whole body forward. It was at that instant that Shadow's unknown instincts took over his senses. The Keyblade fit perfectly in his hands and he swiped the silver weapon with a familiar grace. Then it happened. Just as the silver creature came close to attacking, Shadow swiped the Keyblade across its neckline, severing the creature in two. Time seemed to have frozen in that one instant – Shadow and the decapitated creature stared at one another.

"_My liege..._"

And the silver creature vanished in a flash of white sparks. But before departing from the realm of existence, the silver creature left behind the items it hand stolen. Shadow watched them flutter to the ground, not taking notice that the Keyblade had vanished from his hand. Unknown to the ebony hedgehog, a young girl was watching from the second floor of the ruins, sighing longingly.

**???: Defeated**

* * *

Later that day, Shadow returned to the Usual Spot with the stolen items in hand. The ebony hedgehog had to suffer through an hour of berating from Rouge about responsibility before he was allowed to speak again. The Kingdom Knights gathered around the first of the stolen items, which was a picture of Shadow with the owner of the clothing shop.

"What's this?" Knuckles sneered. "What are you doing with that guy?"

"I was his first customer after he opened the shop." Shadow explained sheepishly. "So we took a picture together."

"It's a nice photo." Rouge said, who sudden gasped in shock.

"Hey, you said photo!" Tails cheered. "That means the word is back, too!"

"So, Shadow." Knuckles said seriously. "What can you tell us about the picture thief?"

"There's not really much to say." Shadow stated, trying to avoid the subject of the creature and Keyblade. "The pictures were just lying on the ground when I found them."

"Then how do we prove we weren't the one who took 'em?" Knuckles scowled dangerously. He looked down at the next picture, which showed Susan giving Shadow his ring cuffs. "Oh look, it's Susan and Shadow again."

"Getting ready for a hot date?" Rouge grinned playfully.

"Can it!" Shadow snapped.

"Hey, has anyone else noticed that all the stolen picture are of Shadow?" Tails asked curiously.

"Well, that would explain why everyone thought it was us that took them." Rouge said thoughtfully.

"Then I suppose Zeenint had the perfect reason to accuse us." Knuckles stated grudgedly. "If the same situation was in reverse, I would have done the same thing."

"Are they really all of me?" Shadow asked.

Tails nodded as he showed the remaining photos they had collected. The first one was with Shadow and the owner of the candy shop, both sharing ice cream. The next one consisted of Shadow lying on the ground, defeated by Zeenint and the Soleanna Signers. And the last picture showed the Kingdom Knights lined up in front of the ancient ruins with a red-haired woman.

"Yeah, you're in every single one." Tails said thoughtfully. "Do you think that whoever took the photos wanted to steal Shadow later on? Maybe they had some big plan involving him?"

"You're kidding, right?!" Knuckles laughed. "Who'd want to steal a bonehead like Shadow."

"Look who's talking." Shadow retorted jokingly.

The Kingdom Knights laughed gleefully, never realizing what future awaited them. And even at this moment, a blue hedgehog stirred restlessly in his slumber.

* * *

_~Restoration at 12%~_

The scene alternates to a hidden room hidden somewhere within the depths of Soleanna's surface. Within the dark room, the hidden woman knowing as ZoN was seated in front of a multi-screened computer, observing the progress of her experiment. She barely took any notice to the cloaked figure and his partner behind her. While the cloaked figure remained unseen, his partner was a deathly-black horse with reptilian features it is appearance, a lengthy neck, and two enlarged wings on its spine. The reptilian horse stood a head taller than the others and stared down at ZoN.

"Order miscreants." ZoN muttered hatefully. "They've found us."

"But...why would the Nobodies steal photographs?" The cloaked figure asked curiously.

"Those are nothing but data to them." ZoN answered. "The fools could never tell the difference. But make no mistake, we are running short on time. Kumori must make haste – we can only hope they send him to do the job."

* * *

Sonic slowly began to stir as the miniscule Chao continued poking at his face. As the cobalt hedgehog woke, he felt as if he had entered some type of unusual dream. A blue fairy-like creature was floating around his head while sitting in an alleyway that he had never seen on Destiny Islands.

"Where am I?"

~304727~

"What happened to my home?! My island?!" Sonic panicked. "Espio?! A..."

~278462~

Sonic summoned the Keyblade to his hands as another figure appeared around the corner. He didn't seem like one of those shadowed creatures, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. And it wasn't helpful that he was carrying a thin sword with a spiked rim around the handle.

"Who are you?" Sonic asked.

"They will come at you out of nowhere." Metal stated. "As long as you continue to wield the Keyblade."

~395629~

A great explosion was heard from the rooftops, drawing Sonic's attention to it. He saw two new characters falling from the sky and began making their descent towards him. He was barely able to take two steps before the grey hedgehog and large albatross piled on top of him.

~946592~

"Hey, why don't you come with us?" Storm suggested. "We can go to other worlds with the Extreme Gear."

~495632~

"Sonic, go with them." Metal said encouraging; Cream nodded beside him. "Especially if you want to find your friends."

"The name's Silver." Silver introduced as he held his hand forward.

"My name is Storm." Storm announced, placing his hand on top of Silver's.

"And I'm Sonic." Sonic smirked, completing the formation. "I'll go with you guys."

~384620~

Sonic and the others walked through the doors to Omega's shop, discovering a newcomer sitting on the counter. E-123 Omega waved his hand to the tiny experiment in emphasis.

"This is experiment 624, codename: Angel." Omega introduced.

~385632~

"I'm Capt. Marine the Raccoon, the world's greatest adventurer, mate!" Marine screamed.

~384624~

"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade." Metal stated, never leading his eyes away from the weapon.

~284624~

While the other's celebrated their victory, Sonic turned his attention to the Keyhole forming above the throne. He pointed the Keyblade and the teeth of the weapon released a thin beam of light.

"But the rat is a problem." Zant proclaimed. "He's found one of the Keyholes."

* * *

**New mysteries and new memories revolve around Soleanna. How can Shadow wield the Keyblade? Who was the mysterious enemy? And is there some connection to Sonic's absence? Found out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	4. Get A Job

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Two: Get a Job

The scene returns to Shadow's housing as the owner was tossing and turning in his bed. Sweat was running down his forehead as scattered dreams of blue hedgehogs and keyblades clustered his mind. The dark hedgehog shot up in his bed, panting heavily, and looked down at his right palm, feeling that something was missing.

"A Key...blade...?" Shadow said questionably.

Little over an hour later, Shadow was dressed and making his way downtown to the Usual Spot. As he passed by, he noticed a sudden change in their people's personalities. They were not glaring at him and even waving merrily as if nothing had occurred during the previous day. Shadow found this odd and turned the corner towards the Usual Spot, but his mind was still plagued by what happened at the ancient ruins. Where did that silver creature come from and how did he get that strange weapon? The dark hedgehog crossed his arms and lowered his attention in thought.

"I just don't understand it." Shadow murmured. "What is a Keyblade? What really happened yesterday?" All of a sudden, he knocked against something and nearly stumbled backwards. Shadow looked at the man he collided with and was unable to learn of his identity under the Black Cloak he was wearing. "Um...pardon me. I guess...I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Hmm, interesting..." The shrouded character hummed.

Shadow didn't have a clue why this hooded man was so fascinated by him. He felt a little awkward while the unknown character continued to stare at him for a few short moments and turned back. The man left as if nothing had occurred between them. Though slightly disturbed, Shadow continued at a regular pace to the Usual Spot. Once arriving, he found everyone sitting at the usual places: Knuckles was lying on the rafts, Rouge was sitting on the couch, and Tails was leaning against the second floor railing. Shadow took his usual place on the pile of crates, where he found a bar of Sea-Salt Ice Cream waiting for him – Knuckles must have bought it. There was a short period of silence while everyone enjoyed their frozen treats.

"Do you think we'll always be together like this?" Tails asked randomly.

"Well, we can hope." Rouge commented.

"Hey, where is this coming from?" Knuckles asked confused.

"Well, you know, just thinking out loud." Tails answered sheepishly.

"I doubt we can be together forever." Knuckles stated sagely. "But isn't that what growing up is all about? What's important is not how often we see each other, but how often we think of each other. Right?"

"Steal that from a fortune cookie?" Shadow smirked.

"That's it, no more ice cream for you!" Knuckles yelled; he was normal again. "Man, today's turning out to be a real drag. I was hoping we could be able to do something worthwhile today."

"Maybe we could do more training for the tournament." Rouge suggested. "Zeenint at the Signers are working around the clock to prepare."

"I'm sick of training." Knuckles grumbled, jumping down to the floor. "These are the last few days of summer! We should be doing something fun and exciting! That's way I say we all go to the beach!" The other Knights glanced at each other in disbelief. "I know you're wondering why we should go to the beach. The answer is simple: we haven't gone once during this entire vacation!"

"That is a good idea." Tail nodded. "But there are two problems with that plan. The beach is on the other side of town and it takes rings to buy a train ticket, which we don't have."

"Maybe you forgot that I'm smart." Knuckles grinned deviously; The Knights groaned inwardly. "We'll just head to the notice boards and find some easy jobs to pay for the trip. What are we waiting for?!

"Did he...actually come up with a good plan?" Shadow asked hesitantly.

"Shadow, I'm scared." Tails shivered.

* * *

The last time Knuckles had come up with a good plan, the Kingdom Knights were nearly killed by an angry mob. Shadow and Rouge agreed to keep a shorter leash on the echidna. The remaining Knights followed Knuckles out of the street and raced north for the sector owned by the Rumble Racers, another Brawl Gang. A few short moments later, they were standing on the far side of an open plaza with a wide, white building that had trains coming in an out. While Rouge was searching through the notice boards with a notepad, the boys were staring at a poster a little down from her.

**Brawlers Tournament**

_Now is your chance to prove your skill.  
Take your chances in the Brawlers Tournament.  
Hosted and sponsored by Princess Elise III  
Winner will receive a one of a kind trophy  
and the chance to face the current champion: Hybrid_

_Starts on Thursday at 12_

"Just two days to go." Knuckles said pridefully. "Two of us have to make it to the finals. That way, no matter who wins, all four of us can split the prize."

"Heh! You're on." Shadow grinned challengingly. "But you're going to have to work a lot harder to beat me. I doubt you'll even get past Armand."

"Armand is the second strongest of the Signers." Tails commented. "But the Kingdom Knights are gonna clean their clocks."

"That's a promise." Knuckles nodded.

"All right, boys, you had your fun." Rouge said playfully, rejoining the group. "Now, it's time to get down to business. One ticket to the beach is 900 rings. How much does everyone have?"

"3600 rings." Tails answered

"And 300 each to spend there." Rouge said calculative. "What's that for all of us?"

"1200 ring." Tails answered. "A total of 4800 rings."

"What are we going to spend that on?" Shadow asked.

"Pretzels, of course." Rouge answered smirking. "What else is there?"

"We could always get some watermelons." Knuckles suggested.

"Too pricy." Rouge shook disapprovingly. "They're 2000 rings a piece."

"Pretzels are good with me." Knuckles replied. "But how much do we have left? We need 4800 rings all together, but all I've got is 800 rings."

"650..." Tails stated.

"I've only got 150." Shadow said disappointed.

"That 1600 rings." Rouge added hopefully. "All we need is 3600 rings and we'll be eating those pretzels in no time." The white bat torn a piece from her notebook and split into four equal pieces, handing one to each Knight. "I've selected a handful of jobs that are suitable to your abilities. Once we've collected enough rings, we'll meet back here for the final count."

"Yes, ma'am!" The boy saluted.

With their assignments ready, the Kingdom Knights flew in their separate directions. The first of them to reach their destination was Tails, who was sadly disappointed when learning what his job was. The two-tailed vulpine was standing in the corner of the market place with a butterfly net and a beekeeper's mask in hand. His assignment was to capture the swarming bumblebee's nest hidden behind the accessory shop. Susan was finding behind the kitsune, trying to keep herself distant from the swarm.

"Are you sure you can get rid of them?" Susan asked timidly.

"It'll over in a moment." Tails said confidently. He reached into his bushy tail and pulled out a glass bottle filled with toxic-green liquid. "This is a new repellent I have been working on. Just one whiff of this and those bees will be flying away with their stingers between their legs."

"Wow, really?" Susan asked impress; she reached out to grab it. "So how exactly does it..." He accidentally knocked it with her knuckle, causing the vial to smash on the ground. "...Work?"

"Well, I got nothing." Tails said shortly.

"Maybe it would be better if Shadow takes over." Susan sighed dreamily. "I bet he could get rid of them without even trying."

"No!" Tails said defiantly, raising his fist in the air. "I am a member of the Kingdom Knights. We follow the code of honor, valor, and courage! I will complete this mission or die trying!"

"Dude, it's just bees." Susan said bluntly.

The yellow fox sweat dropped at his dramatic moment was ruined. Keeping the net mask close to is face and the net in hand, Tails screamed wildly and jumped into the fray.

* * *

The scene alternates to the hillside sector owned by another Brawl Gang called the Speed Strikers. Knuckles was trudging up the one of the larger hills with his back against a cargo crate alongside another worker who opted for the job. Now one would think that hauling cargo would be simple for someone as strong as the cherry echidna. But there were many factors that went against him. The cargo they were carrying was over four hundred pounds, the hill was treacherously steep, and there was the problem with the cart they were pushing.

"Who in their ring mind puts square wheels on a cart?!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"The guys in maintenance though it would be funny." The worker grunted.

"This isn't working." Knuckles said strained. "I've got an idea, but it's a risky one. When I give the signal, we both let go of the cart and I'll take care of the rest."

"What are you up to?" The worker asked nervously.

"Just do it!" Knuckles yelled, tightening his fists. "On my count! 1...2...3!!"

At the signal, the second worker rolled to the side and Knuckles jumped down the hill. At the moment of their release, the cart began stampede down the slope and in the direction of the echidna Knight. The worker closed his eyes and Knuckles stiffened his stance as he brought his fist backwards. Once the cart was only a few feet away, Knuckles pulled off the unbelievable: he drilled his namesake into the cart and sent it flying. The other worker ducked as the cargo was shot over his head and miraculously landed on the leveled ground at the top of the hill.

"Yes! We did it!" Knuckles cheered while dancing. "800 rings, here I come!"

"Great, we're only halfway there." The worker smiled.

"Halfway?" Knuckles repeated fearfully.

The other worker nodded and pointed to the left. The bewildered echidna followed his direction and gapped like a fish out of water. Their real target was a garage at the pinnacle of a hundred-foot mountain that required climbing gear to travel. The hot-blooded echidna passed out.

* * *

The next scene was back in the territory owned by the Kingdom Knights within the suburban area. Rouge was gliding along the street, waving to the passing citizens, with a mailbag strapped to her shoulder. Every few feet, the pearl-white bat would stop in front of one household and dropped a handful of letters into their appropriate places. For a short while, she was doing rather well. But that she stopped outside a metal fenced yard with a sign that said "Beware of dog". There was a plank of wood between the words, which made no sense to her.

"Dr. Newt, eh?" Rouge said as she read the address. "Hmm, I wonder what kind of doctor lives here."

"I wouldn't go in there, young lady." Rouge looked over and learned that the candy shop lady lived next door. "The doctor has a mean dog that could hurt you."

"I'm sure I can handle whatever he throws at me." Rouge said confidently.

The old woman shook her head in disappointment and went back to watering her begonias. Children these days could be so hardheaded. The feminine Knight hopped over the metal fence and landed defensively in the yard. From what she could tell, it was an average lawn: green grass, a bird bath, and the occasional garden gnome. But there was no sign of any guard dog. That was until she stepped forward and a sharp yelp was heard from below. Rouge jumped backwards and stared down to find a little Chihuahua dog staking timidly close to her ankle.

"Aw, aren't you a cute little guy." Rouge cooed. "How could anyone think you were a vicious attack dog?"

She bent down and patted the dog's head, which ultimately proved to be her own undoing. From that simple touch, the tiny pet transformed into ten-foot, muscular, green-skinned behemoth. Rouge's eyes contacted fearfully and she remained unmoving as the dog took a deep huff of breath. This was going to hurt. And while the feminine Knight was being mauled by the savage beast, the sign outside dropped the wooden plank to reveal the whole message: "Beware of **mutant** dog".

* * *

"How the hell did I get stuck with this?" Shadow grumbled.

"I'm not too giddy, either." Damien scowled.

The scene had shifted to the sector controlled by the Soleanna Signers, where Shadow and Damien were grudgedly working together. They had both been assigned to put up posters around town and only the offer of 100 rings per poster kept them from leaving. There was a monotonous pattern share between them – they found a spot, swiped a dab of glue with a paint brush, and plaster the poster. The signs they were forced to put up were advertisements for the Brawlers Tournament, which the duo were forming a mutual hatred of.

"How many more do we have left?" Damien questioned irritably.

"Only six more." Shadow answered.

"Well, it's about time." Damien groaned loudly. He pulled out a folded poster and reached for his glue brush. "If I see anymore of these things, I swear I'm gonna..." With realizing it, the golden hound accidentally dabbed Shadow's forehead with glue. When he found out, Damien couldn't resist laughing. "Oops, my bad!"

"I'm going to pretend that didn't happen." Shadow said calmly. He swiped the wall with his brush, unintentionally splattering the golden out with dots of glue. "Well, that wasn't meant to happen."

"Like hell it wasn't!" Damien roared furiously. "You did that on purpose."

"No, that was an accident." Shadow proclaimed. "_This _is on purpose."

The jet-black hedgehog touched Damien's forehead with his glue brush and swiped it downwards to make a bright line down his nose. The golden hound counterattacked my slapping Shadow with his brush. The fight pretty much snowballed from there and involved tons of glue, punches, and shredded paper.

* * *

Later that day, the Kingdom Knights returned to the train station, bearing the marks of their various adventures. Tails was puffy and coated in beestings, Knuckles' left arm was limping uselessly, Rouge was covered in bite marks and scratches, and Shadow was a mess of glue and paper. But despite all the suffering they had endured, they had managed to collect their payments and collected them in total. They deposited their rings, who had taken a moment to count their total.

"Nice haul, boys." Rouge said proudly. "Added with what we had before, we now have..." She showed a small orange ornamented with a shield and two crossing swords. "Ta-da! 5000 rings!"

"Awesome!" Tails cheered as Rouge handed Shadow the bag. "That's more rings than we've ever had! Let's hurry up and get tickets!"

Tails and Rouge were already running up the steps to the train station, but Knuckles and Shadow remained behind. There was an intimidating period of silence between them, meaning something serious was up.

"We can't be together forever." Knuckles said solemnly. "So we better make the time we do have something to remember."

Shadow watched his leader with the utmost confusion. This was the first time in a while he had ever heard his best friend talk about something as serious as this before. But then the burning echidna grinned deviously and punched Shadow's shoulder before chasing after his friends. Was he joking...or not? The jet-black hedgehog was pondering this same question until he felt something sharply stabbed at the back of his neck. Shadow collapsed to the ground, which the other Knights noticed worriedly. The dark hedgehog was slowly pushing himself back up until he felt a hand sharply pull him up by his forearm. It wasn't Knuckles or anyone he knew – it was the Black Cloaked man earlier. He murmured a few words, leaving Shadow particularly confused.

"Shadow, we don't have all day!" Knuckles called.

"What?" Shadow stammered.

The dark Knight looked back and the Black Cloaked man had vanished completely. How could anyone move that fast. Shadow decided to figure it out later and followed the rest of his team into the train station. When he had reached them, Knuckles was already at the ticket counter.

"We need four tickets to Wave Ocean." Knuckles requested turning to his friend. "Shadow, you've got the rings?"

"Yeah, I've got it right..." Shadow trailed off as he reached for the rings; they weren't there. "No! This can't be happening! Where could they have...?" He suddenly remember the Black Cloaked man. "He took it!"

"Shadow what are you talking about?" Tails asked curiously.

"Remember when I fell?" Shadow questioned. "I had the money before that. I'll bet anything that guy took it! He couldn't have gotten too far! Maybe we can..."

"Whoa, calm down, Shadow." Rouge interrupted hurried. "What are you talking about? There wasn't anyone else around for miles."

"What?" Shadow said in disbelief.

At that point, there was no reason to argue with it any longer. The bells from the platforms signaled the last train leaving the station – they missed their trip to the beach.

* * *

Later that day, the Kingdom Knight relocated themselves to a place where they cold watch the sunset in peace. Being close friends to Princess Elise, the group was given free access to the palace at all times. The team of four were sitting at the highest ledge of the palace, watching the horizon with Sea-Salt Ice Cream in hand. Elise was unable to join them because of her many duties. Of the Knights, Shadow was the only one not eating his frozen treat and unconsciously watched a drop of blue fall to the ground below.

"You better hurry up and eat." Rouge suggested. "It's starting to melt."

"Sorry, guys." Shadow mumbled depressed.

"Aw, get over it!" Knuckles smirked.

"It was definitely weird, thought." Tails commented. "How could all those rings just suddenly disappear?"

The black hedgehog lost focus of the conversation and tried to decrypt the man's unusual words.

"_Can you feel Sonic?"_

* * *

_~Restoration at 28%~_

The scene returns to the dark, underground chamber serving as a threshold for ZoN. The masked enigma was in her usual seat, watching the monitors while the numbers passed across the screens. The reptilian horse was curled in the corner of the room like a house cat and the Black Cloak man was leaning against the opposite wall. He was tossing a small bag in his hand, which was the same bag he had recovered from Shadow.

"Is it really that hard to make a beach?" The Black Cloaked man asked.

"We'd be giving the enemy another entry point." ZoN responded.

"And this?" The man asked, holding out the bag.

"We could always buy some Sea-Salt Ice Cream." ZoN stated jokingly, laughing with weak emphasis. "Objects from that town must be kept out of the real world. You can delete it now."

But instead of following his orders, the hooded man pocketed the bag inside his cloak.

* * *

The Sonic Team had already returned to the Toa Shrine, only to have their plans thwarted by Matoro. While the female Toa drifted out of sight, the self-proclaimed leader glared at the hedgehog and his weapon.

"As the Key bearer, you have a duty not to meddle in the affairs of other worlds." Matoro scolded.

~230582~

"To restore my home to its proper place." Hahli sighed longingly. "That is my dream."

~739263~

Sonic, Silver, and Storm were called back into the entrance hall by the aged master as they stood lined up to receive their rewards. Master Roshi was leaning against his wooden staff while Goku watched impressively at his side.

"And thus, I dubbed thee warriors in-training..." Master Roshi announced.

"Hey! What do you mean warriors in-training." Silver interrupted rudely.

"You rookies don't understand what it takes to be a true warrior." Roshi proclaimed.

~284284~

The team had settled themselves in the field. Though they had won the battle, the victory was bittersweet. And no matter how hard he argued, Link was unable to join the heroes in retrieving the princess. However, one little imp wasn't going to allow him to surrender so easily.

"I promise I won't stop looking." Midna said earnestly; Link was stunned. "We're friends, Link. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be alive today. You've always helped me, so it's time for me to do the same."

"Thanks, Midna." Link said kindly. "I can always count on you."

~956734~

The Heroes, with the exception of Silver, returned to the castle dungeon after their short success. Snape had discarded the useless Heartless once Harry and Sonic reported their story.

"Ginny, I should have listened to you." Harry said in defeat.

"Don't blame yourself. It could have happened to anyone." Ginny said cheerfully. "You can always try something different next time. I'll even help you."

~394572~

The Sonic Team, Traverse Squad, and Amy were slowly moving from behind the broken furniture, staring down at the little monstrosity. There were some glares directed to Shahra and Sonic for summoning the beast, but they were able to let it slide.

"Now that we're all settled down," Sonic said calmly. "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" The creature said dramatically. "Who am I? I am the Knight of Legends, the Sovereign of Salvation, and the greatest hero the Digital World has ever seen. I go by many names, but you may call me Dorumon."

~283476~

"Ouch, that hurt, Sonic." Espio said mockingly. "And here I thought we were friends."

"Espio, what are you doing here?" Sonic asked shockingly. "Did you find her?"

~289472~

"Sonic, are you going to be ok?" Storm asked.

"Actually, I'm more then ok." Sonic smiled. "I can't wait to tell A..." "And I can't wait until I tell Silver how I used water magic."

~594762~

Chaos and Sonic exchanged glares with one another as they passed by. To them, this was more than just a challenge – this was the ultimate test of skill. Neither of them realized how much their futures would be affected by that one instant.

"You'll find it." Sonic stated confidently. "I'm searching, too."

"For your light?" Chaos asked. "Don't ever lose sight of it."

~485724~

Where are you going, Sonic." Tails-chao asked.

"I have to go look for my friends." Sonic said. "They're waiting for me somewhere."

"Then we'll be seeing ya." Sonic-chao said. "Remember: you are always welcomed at Chao Garden."

~583021~

"What did you do to them?" Sonic growled. "Where are they?"

"Instead of worrying about them," Espio said monotonously. "You should be asking about her"

* * *

The final scene opens to a familiar white room, containing nothing but an egg-shaped pod in the center of the chamber. While the creature hidden within the pod slumbered, he could feel the presence of another. She was a faint outline, but something about her felt strangely familiar in his heart.

"Who are you?" The creature murmured silently.

The female said nothing and continued to smile as he returned to his restless sleep. He had completely forgotten about her – it was time they finally meet.

"Scion..." Kumori said longingly.

* * *

**The misadventure of our heroes leads to an untimely failure. Who was the man that attacked Shadow? Why didn't the others see him? And how will Kumori find this 'Scion'? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	5. Scion

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Three: Scion

The scene opens to Shadow's housing as the owner slept contently in his bed. And while the black hedgehog began to stir from his slumber, he sensed something unusual about his surroundings. Out of the corner of his eye, Shadow caught something red and black before turning in that direction – the corner of his room was empty.

"Man, I'm getting paranoid." Shadow sighed.

Little over an hour later, Shadow had dressed and arrived at the Usual Spot to meet his friend. Imagine his surprise when he discovered that none of the Kingdom Knights were in their regular places. It was routine for the four of them to meet first thing in the morning before planning out the day. But his question was shortly answered when he noticed a small note resting on Rouge's couch. The message was writing haphazardly and scrawled untidily – Knuckles had terrible handwriting.

_Meet at the station. Today's  
the day we finally hit the beach – and  
don't worry about the rings._

_~Knuckles_

"Where the hell did he get the..." Shadow stared before shaking his head. "On the other hand, I really don't want to know. I'll I know now is that we can finally hit the beach. I've been waiting all summer for this."

Shadow the Hedgehog may have been know as a serious fighter and brilliant strategist, but even he wants to have fun on occasions. The jet-black hedgehog had been planning to visit Wave Ocean for the past two months, but has always been delayed by brawls or financial trouble. Shadow had left the Usual Spot moments ago and walking through the market place on his way to the train station. After he ducked down to avoid Susan's watchful eye, he came across Rouge and Tails with the youngest member carrying over ten shopping bags. Rouge defined the world shopaholic.

"Hey, guys." Shadow smirked. "Out on your usual spree, I see."

"You know it." Rouge said proudly. "You wouldn't bel..."

All of a sudden, the market place became deathly quiet. Rouge and Tails had stopped in mid-step, frozen into place without any logical reason. And as he looked around, Shadow learned that his friends weren't the only ones affected. Shoppers had been silenced, shopkeepers were positions in stiffened motions, and even the birds were halted in midair. It was as if time had stopped complete without touch him. Shadow turned around and jumped back as a new character appeared directly behind him – Kumori giggled playfully.

"Hello, Scion." Kumori greeted.

"Uh...hi." Shadow said awkwardly. "I think you have me confused with someone else. My name is Shadow." He looked at the market again; everything was still frozen. "How did you...?"

"I just had to meet you at least once before it happens." Kumori sighed.

"Meet...me?" Shadow repeated confused. "Why would you...?"

The jet-black hedgehog stiffened and his quills tingled at the sensation. While Shadow was speaking, Kumori had boldly jumped into his arms and forced her lips onto the hedgehog Knight. Shadow was dazed and confused. He had only met this girl for a few seconds and she just kissed him without giving a proper warning. But something in Shadow's heart felt that this was the right thing to do – it was like their hearts were connected by an unknown feeling. And just as it had begun, Kumori ended it within a few short seconds. Kumori giggled at the shock plastered around the hedgehog's expression and began to walk away. The moment she was out of sight, time resumed its usual place.

"...ieve the kind of bargains you find on a Wednesday." Rouge finished.

"You have no idea what kind of day I've been through." Tails panted under the weight of the bags. "She wanted my opinion on bikinis and she ended up buying the whole stock. It's no wonder we never have any money to spend."

"Aw, don't act like you didn't love it." Rouge winked teasingly; Tails blushed embarrassingly. "Hey, Shadow, what's up with you? You act like you've seen a ghost."

"Didn't...you see...that girl." Shadow stammered.

"What girl?" Tails asked confused.

"That girl!" Shadow emphasized. "The one that appeared out of nowhere and just kissed me out of the blue. There's something very odd about her. I feel like...I've met her somewhere before."

"Aw, Shadow finally has a girlfriend." Rouge stated playfully.

"Why can't I ever get a date?" Tails moaned, hanging his head sadly.

"Just suck it up." Rouge commanded, pushing Tails ahead. "We'll catch you at the train station, Shadow. I'm sure you and your 'friend' have a lot of making out – I mean, making up to do."

Shadow didn't attempt to respond to her brash comments and waited until they were far away enough to concentrate. That girl appeared out of the air at the same moment everything stopped. Were they somehow connected? And why did she kiss him from only a short meeting – Shadow's face was red from the memory. He stared down the path that the hedgehog girl had disappeared and theorized that her path was aimed towards the ancient ruins outside of the city. Why would she go there? There was only one way to find out.

"This week only get weirder." Shadow sighed.

The hedgehog Knight followed the trail outside of the city and followed through the gateway to the endless forest. The ancient ruins of the former king's palace were seen from a distance, but the hedgehog girl was nowhere to be seen. Did he make a mistake or was the girl even real to begin with? Things were becoming a lot more complicated than ever.

"_We have found you, my liege._"

"Huh?! Who's there?!" Shadow exclaimed. All of a sudden, a portal of pure darkness formed in midair and the silver-skinned creature jabbed its head into view, hissing lowly. "It's you again! What do you want?!"

"_What we have come for, my liege._" The silver creature responded.

Shadow assumed his battle stance, still finding it unusual for the picture thief to refer to him with a powerful title. The silver-skinned beast stretched its limbs out and positioned itself in from of the hedgehog Knight, but it was not alone. Two more of the enigmatic beasts emerged from the black hole and surrounded Shadow from all sides. The jet-black hedgehog raised his fists defensively and tried to for a strategy on how to defeat them, but his knowledge of these creatures were vastly lacking. The trio of beasts hissed and stabbed their heads like arrows. Shadow could only think of one maneuver at that point: he jumped. Fortunately enough, the silver fighters headbutted one another and Shadow landed, swiftly racing his way back into the city.

"Ok, maybe that was a stupid thing to follow her out into the open." Shadow scolded; he entered the Soleanna Signer's territory. "Of course it would be a trap. Why else would a girl just kiss you without any particular reason?"

"Hey, look, Shadow's talking to himself." The jet-black hedgehog stopped at turned to the Soleanna Signers, who were laughing at the joke made by Gemini. "Think he finally lost it? I'll be happy to call the asylum."

"I don't have time to deal with you guys." Shadow growled. "I'm being chased by a bunch of flying monsters and I don't need you to get in my way."

"Flying monster?" Zeenint repeated intrigued. "What flying monsters?"

At that very moment, one of the silver creatures jumped down from the roof and stabbed their hands forward. Damien was the unfortunate soul to be pierced by the warrior's razor hand, but he was only wounded in his left knee. The rest of the Soleanna Signers formed a circle around their fallen teammate, looking ready to kill.

"Who are they, boss?" Armand asked.

"I don't know, but they've already crossed the line!" Zeenint howled furiously. "I don't care what you do, but don't leave a single one of those freaks standing! You must fight to kill!"

However, that was much easier said than done. Shadow had thought to escape once the Signers had distracted them, but he wasn't cowardly enough to leave them behind. He could only stand there, watching as the Signers were effortlessly defeated one-by-one. Gemini had thrown a punch and kick simultaneously, but both were caught by the beast and he was tossed into a nearby lamppost. Armand's brute strength would have been enough to crush them, but the silver enigma was too fast and stabbed at the tiger's legs, forcing him to collapse. Zeenint lasted much longer than his comrade, using his speed to dodge and even landed a few punches against his opponent's head. But when all three ganged up on him at once, not even the Signer leader could have resisted the assault. With all four Signers defeated, the unknown warriors turned their attention to their target.

"_You're next, my liege._" The creatures hissed in unison.

"This is not good." Shadow mumbled.

The jet-black hedgehog staggered backwards, waning from their advances. They had proved too powerful even for Shadow unless he had that giant key with him. Why couldn't he use it like last time? The hedgehog Knight threw out his hand, hoping to call the weapon, but his palm remained empty. The silver beasts had surrounded their target from all sides, this time not leave a chance for an opening. They had trapped him like a rat.

"Scion! Use the Keyblade!"

Shadow's attention was sharply turned to the rooftops. Kumori was looking down at the scene with her hand held open to reach for him. Sensing Kumori's presence, the silver beasts growled and charged for their target. Shadow raised his arms defensively and Kumori's palm gained a luminous glow – the scenery had vanished.

* * *

Shadow moaned weakly and pulled his arms down, wondering why the silver attackers had not stabbed him to the wall. But as he looked around, he quickly learned there was no wall to begin with. He was standing in a realm of pure darkness with only the light of the platform to guide him. He looked down and felt a sense of familiarity with the stained glass portrait below his feet. The picture was of a blue hedgehog sleeping with the Keyblade resting in his hands. On the left side of the hedgehog, the pictures of a white hedgehog, grey albatross, pink koala, and orange raccoon circled him. To his right, the pictures of a pink hedgehog girl, a purple chameleon, a red bat, and Kumori flanked him. Shadow recognized the hedgehog from his dream and knew the ones surrounding him must have been his friends.

"What's going on here?" Shadow murmured softly.

"So you have arrived." A voice echoed; Shadow jumped. "I have waited so long to meet you."

"Who are you?" Shadow asked.

"I represent the shadows of your other half." The voice responded. "There is so much for you to learn, but your hidden power has been consequently sealed away. It must have been the work of the one who had brought you to this place."

"Hidden powers?" Shadow repeated.

"You are my other half." The voice stated firmly. "Our soul is unified by one source and he has yet to awaken. If you are unable to summon the Keyblade, this will only make things more difficult."

"How do I use it?" Shadow asked.

"Give your essence to the Keyblade." The voice answered sagely. "Use the light of your memories to give it shape."

It was common knowledge that Shadow despised riddles and this was no exception. The only thing he was able to learn from the cryptic message was that happy memories allowed him to give the Keyblade 'shape'. At first, he began thinking of the Kingdom Knights beating Zeenint and the Signers during a festival contest over a month back. But then his mind was plagued by another thought: Kumori kissing him and the pleasure he felt from the contact. He felt a sudden weight in his hand and looked down – the Keyblade had formed in his palm.

"Perfect." The voice echoed. "Use this power to defend yourself from your enemies."

"Enemies?" Shadow repeated. "What enemies?" At that moment, the silver-skinned beasts emerged from the darkness and surrounded their target. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Fight well, Scion." The voice urged.

The dark Knight was about to explain the mistake in his name, but he was unable to speak shortly afterwards. One of the silver soldiers stabbed their razor hands for the hedgehog's feet, but Shadow kicked off the ground and into the air. The Keyblade Master was surprised at himself at the height he had reached – he was over twenty feet above. The silver beasts were just as stunned and remained unmoving even after Shadow had landed. Driven by natural instinct, the black hedgehog kicked forward and slashed his Keyblade once close enough. In one miraculous swing, Shadow had taken out all three silver beasts and watched them fade away from the realm of existence.

"What...just happened?" Shadow gasped amazingly. "I've never been able to do something like that before."

"The thirst for battle runs thick in your blood." The voice proclaimed. "Your former skills are slowly returning. But a greater threat still lurks within the Station of Awakening."

"Station of Awakening?" Shadow repeated, becoming very agitated.

"Be brave, Scion." The voice echoed fading. "You are still needed."

"Wait! Come back!" Shadow called desperately.

But the voice's presence had faded entirely, which sent the hedgehog on immediate alert. His essence was replaced by a cold and empty sensation that sent chills down the hedgehog's spine. Shadow was able to determine the direction of the cold and curved on his heels. The dark Keyblade Master was ready to run as his newest opponent climbed up the platform, but remembered there was nowhere to go. The newest titan was a colossal, silver-skinned warrior with spiked shoulder blades and pointed feet with a large zipper running down its length. It wore a flowing, blue scarf and bared the symbol of the soldiers: a turned heart with a spiked crossed. The unknown monster stood at full height, easily towering the Keyblade Master.

"_It is time, Lord Scion._" The titan echoed.

* * *

**Nobody Colossus: Twilight Thorn**

The Keyblade Master prepared himself, thinking of which strategy to use on this creature. If it was anything like the soldiers, it had the unnatural ability to stretch its limbs beyond the normal reality. And true to his judgment, the Twilight Thorn jabbed its fist forward and extended its length across the platform. Shadow rolled to the left as the gloved fist slammed down, sending a shockwave that nearly forced him off his feet. But with the opportunity presented, the dark Knight jumped around and stabbed his Keyblade over the Twilight Thorn's hand. The strategy would have most likely worked if it had not been for the black and white thorns exploding from its fist. The lightning-like thorns were swift and cut across Shadow's left shoulder and ankle, but left him unharmed for the most part. And by the time the Keyblade Master had landed, the Twilight Thorn had called its arm back towards itself.

"Well, that was different." Shadow commented.

"_Come back, Lord Scion._" The Twilight Thorn beckoned. "_You must return to us, my liege._"

"I have nothing to do with you." Shadow glared. "And my name is Shadow."

The Twilight Thorn remained indifferent to Shadow's defiance and lowered its body directly onto the stained glass. The Keyblade Master pondered the sudden action and swiftly received his answer. Though it was pretty much expected, Shadow was still surprised once the Twilight Thorn began sliding across the platform, flailing its limbs. Carefully avoiding the titan's arm, Shadow jumped over, landing on the Twilight Thorn's back, and started making his way down its back. In the process, he stabbed the titan's spine with the Keyblade and dragged it along side him. Surprisingly enough, the Twilight Thorn did not react and stopped suddenly, sending the Keyblade Master flying forward. Only to further prove its advance contortion, the Twilight Thorn twisted its legs around and snapped Shadow tightly between it feet.

"How in the world is this event possible?" Shadow grunted with effort.

"_My liege, surrender._" The Twilight Thorn said. "_The Superior grows impatient._"

"Forget it." Shadow spat. "I don't care who sent you, but they're not going to take me anywhere."

Acting out without thought, the dark Knight raised his Keyblade and stabbed it into the monsters foot. The Twilight Thorn was forced to release its hold and allowed Shadow to touch ground once again. But at the moment its target had landed, the Twilight Thorn summoned a barrier of monochrome thorns around its face and unleashed them in a furious storm. Once again, Shadow allowed his instincts to take over instead of his thoughts. An instant reaction occurred and the Keyblade Master curved through the sea of thorns, unbelievably gliding across the platform. The Twilight Thorn remained impassive, but it made no reaction as the dark Knight swerved through its attack until only inches separated them. Shadow swiped his Keyblade the titan's face and threw it back with impressive strength.

"Is that all you've got left?" Shadow smirked superiorly.

"_Lord Scion, I do not desire to destroy you._" The Twilight Thorn said.

"I already told you!" Shadow screamed angrily. "My name is Shadow!"

The Keyblade Master gripped his chosen weapon and charged ahead for the finishing blow. The Twilight Thorn made no hasty counterattack and continually stared at its target – a flash of light exploded around Shadow. When the Dark Knight regained his senses, he nearly passed out in fright. He was dangling over fifty feet above the platform and was held in place by glowing spheres around his ankles and wrists. Struggle as he might, Shadow was unable to break free from his binds. All of a sudden, the Twilight Thorn twisted into view and brought its face close to the hedgehog.

"_I had warned you, my liege._" The Twilight Thorn echoed, bringing back its fist. "_I must follow my orders._"

And with that, the silver titan thrusted it glove-like hand ahead. Shadow wasn't sure how he did it, but the dark Knight somehow instinctively knew how to react. Shadow gained a sudden boost of strength and twisted around in midair, avoid the strong blow. And at the same time, the Keyblade swiped across the Twilight Thorn's face, sending it hurtling into the darkness. The silver titan regained its composure and slithered its arms to grasp the dangling hedgehog. And just out of precaution, the Twilight Thorn threw Shadow in midair and waited for him to fall back down. Once the dark Knight began to freefall, the silver titan swung its arm around for a finishing blow. Shadow felt another reaction take over. By nothing short of a miracle, the Keyblade Master flipped over the Twilight Thorn's hand and made a powerful swing to its head. Shadow landed safely on his feet as the Twilight Thorn slithered out of view.

"What's wrong?" Shadow taunted. "Giving up already?"

Perhaps mocking the giant wasn't the smartest plan. Without warning, the platform began to tilt back and threw the hedgehog off its boundaries. Shadow stabbed the Keyblade into the edge of the platform at the last minute and discovered the missing Twilight Thorn. The silver titan was standing upside-down on the side of the platform, wielding a large mass of nothingness over its head.

"Whoa, didn't see that coming." Shadow commented.

The Twilight Thorn kicked off the platform, throwing Shadow off and launching the platform somewhere into the depths of darkness. Both opponents were now left alone with nothing to hold their place – this was the final bout. The Twilight Thorn curved under Shadow and raised the sphere of nothingness to end the creatures existence. Shadow's final strike was the finishing blow. The Keyblade Master flipped around in midair and boldly tossed the chosen weapon into the glowing sphere. The mass of nothingness exploded, throwing Shadow and his enemy in opposite directions. But before losing sight entirely, Shadow discovered that the Keyblade had lodged itself into the Twilight Thorn's skull and obliterated the titan.

"Not bad...for a rookie." Shadow panted tiredly.

And the dark Knight accepted his fate, allowing the darkness to consume him. But someone else had other plans in mind. A slander hand link with his own and Shadow could sense the light approaching.

**Twilight Thorn: Defeated.**

* * *

When the Keyblade Master awoke once again, he was in a different realm altogether. It was only him and Kumori, standing in an eternal plain of pure white and emptiness. The two hedgehogs stared at one another in thought. Shadow made a motion to speak, but Kumori raised a finger to silence him.

"My name is Kumori." Kumori introduced. "Scion...do you remember your true name?"

"Say no more, Kumori."

Both hedgehogs jumped at the sudden intrusion and Kumori was pulled by an unknown character. This new figure wore the same cloak as the man who had attacked Shadow yesterday, but there were some notable differences. This character was shorter and appeared to be crouching with its blood-red claws tightening over Kumori's wrist. And that voice – it sound feminine with a soft growl mixed in.

"But if no one tells him, Scion will..." Kumori said desperately.

"It's best if he doesn't know the truth." The female stated.

"Truth?! What truth?!" Shadow screamed righteously. "I enough of your damn puzzles! First that voice, then that monster, and now this! Who are you guys?! What do you want from me?!"

The unknown female ignored his questions and waved her hand in his direction. A portal of pure darkness formed behind the dark Knight, drawn his distracted attention. That was all the female need to push him through."

* * *

"Boss, strike a pose!" Armand cheered.

"How this?" Zeenint asked chuckling.

"Perfect as always." Gemini answered.

Shadow groaned loudly, feeling the hard concrete pressing against his face. While his head momentarily, the dark Knight pushed himself and discovered that he had returned to the Signer's territory in Soleanna. Speaking of whom, the Soleanna Signers were each stepped in front of him, assuring a different pose of victory for the camera presented. It wasn't until Shadow had kicked back to his feet that the Signers backed off.

"What's that for?" Shadow growled.

"Just a little keepsake." Damien chuckled. "Those freaks in the white jumpsuits are gone thanks to us. You should really be thanking us on your knees."

"Don't get overconfident." Zeenint said strictly. "Those outsiders were strong and easily took us all out in one shot. This only proves that we need more training if we want to get stronger." He turned to Shadow. "Just make sure not to get yourself killed before we fight."

"Worry about yourself." Shadow glared.

But Zeenint merely smirked and was actually looking over Shadow's shoulder. The dark Knight followed his trail of vision and regretted the decision instantly. The Kingdom Knights were standing around the corner with their leader leering at the back of his head. Knuckles scoffed and turned away – Tails and Rouge followed after him.

"Hey, wait up!" Shadow called as he gave chase.

Shadow followed his friends back to the Usual Spot, where an unusual period of silence overtook the warehouse. Each of the Knights was in their usual places, eating Sea-Salt ice cream that Knuckles had clearly paid for. Rouge and Tails watched their friend walk in uneasily, but Knuckles acted as if he wasn't there – Shadow sighed heavily.

"So...you hung out with Zeenint's gang today?" Tails asked sadly.

"No, it's not like that." Shadow said, hoping they would believe him. "We just ran into each other while I was heading to the train station. By the way, how was the beach?"

"We didn't go." Rouge replied. "It wouldn't be the same without you, right?"

"Um...sorry." Shadow apologized earnestly. "Well, how about we go tomorrow? We could get those pretzels and..."

"I promised I'd be somewhere." Knuckles answered coldly.

Shadow lowered his head in defeat, but suddenly remembered yesterday's fiasco. Shadow and Knuckles had made a promise to fight together in the finals during the Brawlers Tournament, which he recalled being tomorrow. If the hot-blooded echidna was going to lose his temper, there was a good chance that Shadow would be the one paying for it. How did he get into this mess?

_

* * *

_

~Restoration at 48%~

The scene returns to the underground chamber that ZoN occupied during these long hours. The reptilian horse was still lying in the corner, but kept his eyes focused on the newcomer. The Black Cloaked man had disappeared into the forest a short while ago and the Black Cloaked woman had returned after recovering Kumori. The enigmatic woman took her place beside ZoN, watching the monitors closely.

"Was that Kumori made of data?" The woman asked.

"No..." ZoN answered. "Kumori hijacked the data herself. Just look at what she has done now." She slammed her fist into the wall. "She is totally beyond my control! Now the Order knows where we are!"

"Calm down." The female hissed. "If we're lucky enough, they'll send him to recover Scion."

"It doesn't matter." ZoN stated collectively. "As long as Kumori accomplishes her goal, we needn't worry about what befalls Scion."

* * *

Sonic reach out for his mother, wanting to hold her one last time. But the memory was fading fast, signaling his return to the world of reality.

~957053~

"It's up to me." Espio stated, raising the Keyblade into view. "Only the Keyblade Master can open the secret door and change the world."

~894621~

Espio thrust his hand forward, emitting a single dark orb from it. Marine and Angel tried to block it, but Sonic pushed them back for safety and covered them with his body. They pleaded with him to run away, but he remained unmoving. Silver had summoned a barrier of light to reflect the assault.

"But I would never betray Sonic." Silver said. "He's not just my apprentice; he's also...my friend."

"Looks like you're stuck with us." Storm grinned.

"My friends are my power!" Sonic proclaimed, summoning the Keyblade.

~973892~

"Your heart is strong." Naruto stated. "You could never lose with that."

~740572~

All of a sudden, a sphere of nothingness was shot towards the heroes. In reaction to this, the cobalt hedgehog summoned his Keyblade and pushed the sphere back towards the roof. Sonic glared darkly as twelve figures in Black Cloaks surrounded them.

~384520~

"It's is I, Mephiles, the Seeker of Darkness!" Mephiles announced through Espio's body.

~839421~

"Lead me into everlasting darkness!" Mephiles commanded, raising the Darkblade.

"Sonic!" Amy cried.

In a blinding flash, the Keyblade Master summoned his weapon to ward off the dark copy. Mephiles hissed evilly and was pushed by the strength of Sonic's will.

"Forget it!" Sonic snarled. "There's no way you're taking Amy's heart!"

~383910~

Sonic willingly stabbed his own heart with the Darkblade, releasing the hearts trapped within the copy. And amongst the hearts set free, Amy's floated gently back into her chest. She tried to catch him, but the cobalt hedgehog faded into the darkness, leaving only the light he left behind.

~973947~

Amy held Dark Sonic protectively as the Neoshadows struck. It seemed as if the princess had met her end, but a warm flash of light had obliterated the shadow soldiers. The Sonic Team gapped shockingly once discovering Amy safe within the Keyblade Master's arms.

"Amy..." Sonic murmured.

~639176~

"We may never meet again, but we will never forget each other." Metal said confidently.

"No matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again." Tikal said.

"Besides, I couldn't forget you even if I wanted to." Cream laughed.

~597613~

"Take this." Amy said, dropping the Oathkeeper in his hand. "It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me."

"Don't worry, I will." Sonic nodded.

~364821~

Sonic raised his Keyblade to the final hole, releasing a beam of light from the teeth. The keyhole clicked, shattering the gateway to the darkness. Upon the Heartless emblem breaking, the cobalt hedgehog discovered a black crown keyblade lying on the ground.

"Don't ever forget." Amy whispered. "Wherever you go, I'm always with you."

* * *

**Deeper connections run between the past and the future. Why is Shadow called Scion? What mission has been set by these unknown invaders? And what role does Kumori play in all this? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles.**

**Please, read and review.**


	6. Struggle for Survival, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Four: Struggle for Survival, Part 1

The next day came too early for Shadow's taste. The scene had returned to the Keyblade Master's room at the point where the sun began to rise over the horizon. The jet-black hedgehog groaned, instinctively searching in the corner the moment his eyes were opened. He had hoped, in some part of his heart, Kumori would be waiting to greet him with that cheerful smile of hers – she was nowhere to be seen. Shadow sat up in his bed, staring out his window to Soleanna. Today was the big day.

"Right...'promise'..." Shadow groaned. "How do I get myself into these messes?"

* * *

The scene alternates to the sector controlled by the Soleanna Signers, which was the site of this great event. The plaza had been modified to hold a square arena and banners announcing the Brawlers Tournament were draped across the buildings. While those watching the tournament were seated above, the participants were clustered around the arena in nineteen separate groups. Every brawling gang in Soleanna had shown up to prove their worth. Shadow walked in from the street and easily spotted Tails, Knuckles and Rouge closest to the bulletin board. Though hesitant due to the echidna's temper, the jet-black hedgehog approached his team.

"Hey, guys." Shadow said nervously.

"You ready for this, Shad?" Rouge smirked excitedly. "We'll finally show everyone that the Kingdom Knights are the best in town."

"As long as we don't get beat up during the preliminaries." Tails commented.

"Why do you always have to be so pessimistic?" Rouge sighed.

The Keyblade Master ignored the squabbling between the youngest member and only female of his team and turned his sights towards his leader. The hot-blooded echidna was stretching his muscles in preparation for the tournament, not even taking notice that his closest friend had joined them. Knuckles stopped stretching once he made eye contact with Shadow – a sense of remorse washed over the hedgehog.

"Listen..." Shadow said hesitantly. "Sorry about what happened yesterday."

"What, you're still worried about that?" Knuckles laughed humorously. "You really need to learn to let that stuff go. I'll admit that I was a bit frustrated at first, but I know you didn't do it on purpose."

"I've had a lot on my mind lately." Shadow said tiredly.

It was true – there were so many things he needed to think over these recent days. From what he has learned so far, the silver creatures and the Twilight Thorn were order to capture him by someone called "The Superior". The silver creatures referred him as "Scion" and answered to him with a respectful tone. Kumori also used the same name and was captured by an unknown group wearing Black Cloaks. Was there some hiding connection to these strange events? Shadow's trail of thought was shattered as Knuckles smacked the back of his head, bringing him back to reality.

"Hey, don't black out yet." Knuckles smirked. "You can fall asleep once I beat in the ring."

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try." Shadow challenged.

With Knuckles back on his side, Shadow felt that he could take on any challenge – even Zeenint. Smoky fireworks exploded across the skyline, signaling the beginning of the Brawlers Tournament. The nineteen Brawler Gangs silenced as the Tournament sponsor entered the arena for all to see. She was a tall and slender human female with vivid-red hair that reached to his shoulders. She wore a silken, white gown with golden lining crossing the chest, elbow-length white gloves, a two dove feathers in her hair. She smiled proudly down to the participants, but more towards the Kingdom Knights.

"Welcome, watchers and fighters, to the 3rd annual Brawlers Tournament!" Elise announced; the crowd cheered. "Today is a monumental day that will go down in history as the greatest event in Soleanna! Not only is the largest number of fighters to compete, but also a chance for the title match!"

"Perfect." Knuckles grinned, pounding his namesakes together. "Now's my chance to show them who's the best in town."

"I'll be sure to give you an autograph." Shadow said mockingly.

"Who will break through the ranks on our reigning champion, Hybrid?!" Elise announced eagerly. "And who will leave as our new Brawler Champion?!"

"Allow me to answer that, your majesty."

The human princess stepped to the side as the current Brawler Champion jumped into the arena. He was a deathly-black hedgehog with six curved quills – a red highlight on each – and a white mane around his neckline. He wore a pair of white gloves, three metal bands on each arm, red boots with black lines down the middle, a grey belt, and a golden locket around his neck. The man known as Hybrid lifted a large, championship belt off his shoulder and raised it in the air, sending his fan in an uproar of admiration.

"I'll take on all challengers!" Hybrid shouted dramatically. "Bring me your best fighters and I will watch them fall!"

"Well spoken, Hybrid!" Elise clapped cheerfully, turning to the audience. "And in addition to winning the chance to face our current champion, the victor will receive this grand prize." She motioned her hands to the trophy standing on the shelf at the end of the plaza. The trophy was made from navy-blue stone and held four crystal orbs: blue, red, yellow, and green. "The summa cum laude of Brawling – the Four Crystal Trophy!"

"Ooh, magnificent." Rouge drooled...literally.

"You really know how to pick them, Knux." Tails sniggered.

"It's finally time to start." Knuckles said excitedly, turning to his friend. "Do me a favor and try not to get knocked out during the preliminaries."

"I was about to say the same thing." Shadow replied.

"And without further any further delays...!" Elise shouted. "Let the Brawlers Tournament begin!"

Just as Zeenint had predicted three days before, the Kingdom Knights and Soleanna Signers soared through the tournament preliminaries. Shadow and Knuckles effortlessly took down their opponents with strategy and brute strength respectively. Tails was unfortunate enough to go against a big-muscled member of the Rumble Racers in the first and was forced to forfeit. Rouge had managed to get through two rounds before being defeated by Zeenint. In the end, only Knuckles and Shadow were able to make it as the four participants in the actual tournament.

The Soleanna Signers proved to be just as successful as their rivals. It came as no surprise that Zeenint was taking down the competition in a flash as he was the favorite to win the tournament. Armand was able to make it to the quarterfinals using his speed and strength until he accidentally tripped out of the ring against Shadow. Damien was only able to make it to the second round, where he was mercilessly slapped unconscious by Rouge. The real shock was Gemini, who was ranked as the weakest member of the Soleanna Signers. He surprised everyone by defeating every opponent he faced with a maximum of two hits. And after four straight hours of combat, the final qualifiers were selected.

"The preliminaries have finally concluded!" Elise announced, sending the crowd wild. "It's time to introduce the Final Four of the Brawlers Tournament!" She waved her hands to the four finalists that were lined up besides her. "Our first fighter has been runner-up in the previous two tournaments and is hoping to win it all! Crowd favorite and leader of the Soleanna Signers: Zeenint!!"

"What were you expecting?" Zeenint smirked.

"Our next contest has come complete out of nowhere!" Elise continued. "He has never made it past the first round in the last two tournaments and is now a semifinalist! Please welcome: Gemini!!"

"....." Gemini was silent.

"The next brawler has made it to the semifinals last year and may just go all the way!" Elise shouted. "Leader of the Kingdom Knights and local attitude problem: Knuckles!!"

"Hey!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"Our last selective brawler is a unique character!" Elise stated. "This is his first time in the Brawlers Tournament and could possibly become the next champion! Let us introduce my closest friend: Shadow!!"

"Did you really have to mention that?" Shadow asked sheepishly.

"The match-ups have already been decided!" Elise finished. "It will be Zeenint vs. Shadow and Knuckles vs. Gemini! So don't let me keep you waiting and let's begin the semifinals of the Brawlers Tournament!!"

The crowd screamed until they were hoarse – Knuckles, Gemini, and Elise jumped out of the arena to leave the archrivals with their match. After many hardships and long training, it was time to find out who was the strongest.

"I told you we would meet again." Zeenint said lightly. "It was fated that you and I would battle against each other."

"Since when have you ever agreed with fate?" Shadow smirked.

"Nice come back, wise guy." Zeenint chuckled darkly. "Let's settle this."

* * *

**Signer Leader: Zeenint**

The emerald-green hedgehog and the jet-black Keyblade Master stood at opposite ends, glaring at each other in a traditional standoff. The crowd was silenced by their expressions – nothing in the world mattered to them except winning. A small feather dropped from the sky and landed in the center of the arena – Shadow and Zeenint dashed ahead. In an instant, both warriors were within inches of one another and throwing a blur of punches and kicks that couldn't be seen by normal standards. Shadow thrusted his fist and his opponent's torso, but the emerald hedgehog sidestepped and grappled his wrist under his arm. As the Keyblade Master struggled to break free, Zeenint jabbed his elbow towards Shadow's forehead. It was only through quick reflexes that the dark Knight was able to capture the attack with his hand in time. As Zeenint tried to withdraw his arm, he found his opponents keeping a firm grip.

"Not bad." Zeenint complimented. "You've definitely improved since our last match. But the end result will be the same."

"I think it's time I took your ego down a few notches." Shadow said.

With a mighty tug, the two warriors threw each other in to the side and released. They twisted in midair for a short moment and landed, only to jump right back into the battle.

"Can you believe this?!" Elise announced to the crowd. "Shadow and Zeenint are going all out! Have you ever seen two people fight with such intensity?!"

"Come on, Shadow!" Rouge cheered loudly, unconsciously punching Tails in the face. "Nail him! Give him an uppercut!!"

"You win this, boss!" Armand yelled. "This guy is a chump compared to you!!"

The two warriors were on equal ground for several long moments with neither showing any sign of exhaustion. Finally, the tide changed once Zeenint swiped his leg at Shadow's feet. The jet-black hedgehog fell on his back, allowing his opponent to thrust a powerful punch towards his face. Thankfully, Shadow pressed his hand into the ground and flipped to the side – his enemy missed his chance by a small margin. It was good fortune that he avoided the strike when he did. Once landed properly on his feet, the dark Knight spotted the area where his head was formerly resting and discovered a deep crack under Zeenint's fist.

"Ok...I don't ever recall you being that strong." Shadow said nervously.

"This is what comes from discipline and focus." Zeenint hissed coldly, flexing his hand. "While you were eating ice cream and taking field trips, I was preparing myself for this tournament since the last competition. I last the chance for the championship two years in a row to that bastard." He glared at Hybrid from a distance. "But now is my turn for revenge."

"All this just to get even?" Shadow questioned confused.

"I should have won that match a long time ago." Zeenint growled, gripping his fists at his waist. "But ow I will prove once and for all that I am the strongest in Soleanna!"

The Signer leader held his hands out to Shadow, which he mistook as a gesture of surrender. But much to the shock of his opponent, Zeenint's hands gained a flashing aura of green energy. The emerald hedgehog focused these energies into small sphere within his palms and thrusted them forward. Shadow looked like a deer caught in the headlights – he remained motionless as the dual energy blasts exploded around him. The crowd gasped in shock and was nearly tossed by the aftershock of the blast.

"Ok, when has he ever been able to do that?!" Elise accidentally screamed into her microphone.

"I have not only been training myself not only physically, but mentally as well." Zeenint grinned wickedly. "While during my training, I accidentally bumped into a wolf carrying a stack of books through the market. He dropped one and I discovered the truth about magic and its existence. Now I have learned how to harness the power of light magic!"

"Magic?!" Tails exclaimed in disbelief. "There is no such thing as magic! Scientific evidence has proven this!"

"Believe it or not, I am still victorious." Zeenint proclaimed, pointing to Elise. "Are you going to announce the judgment, your majesty?"

"Um...In an unexpected comeback," Elise announced hesitantly. "It looks like the winner is..."

"Not decided yet!"

Zeenint and the audience surrounding him snapped their attentions back to the smoke cloud that had formed after Zeenint's attack had landed its target. Without warning, Shadow jumped through the cloud and temporarily soared twenty feet over the arena – his body was untouched. It was faint, but Zeenint could partially see an aura of yellow energy pulsating around the hedgehog's body. Did he learn magic as well? This time, it was the emerald hedgehog that was too stunned to move and left himself wide open for a direct assault. For reasons unknown, the pulsating yellow aura transferred to the Keyblade Master's fist as he pulled it back. Shadow touched ground only inches from his stupefied opened and drilled his fist into Zeenint's chin, releasing all the compressed energy within it. The impact launched the Signer Leader out of the arena and into the far wall behind the Soleanna Signers, leaving a deep imprint.

"Um...I don't know what happened...." Elise announced slowly. "But I think Shadow is the winner."

The crowd was finding hard to absorb the information as they were still surprised by Zeenint's magic. But once getting back up to speed, the audience went wild. Shadow, the underdog of the tournament, had pulled a come from behind victory against the crowd favor. After recovering from his strike, Shadow raised his fist to the air and received his well deserved praise.

**Zeenint: Defeated**

* * *

"You were amazing, Shadow." Tails complimented as his friend jumped down from the arena. "How did you survive that attack? And how did you manage to punch Zeenint all the way across the plaza?"

"I...really don't...know." Shadow excused.

That was in fact a lie. Shadow had been feeling the power trapped inside his chest since the battle against the Twilight Thorn, but had yet to release it until now. Gaining control over the Keyblade had given him increased stamina, endurance, speed, and strength beyond any normal creature. But even with these powers, there was a good chance that Zeenint could have still won if he had not been thrown off guard.

"And now the next match will now commence!" Elise shouted. "This time it will be Knuckles vs. Gemini. The unorthodox hedgehog had managed to make it this far, but can he stand up to the powerhouse of Knuckles?!"

"Not a chance." Rouge scoffed. "My man is going to win this and the Kingdom Knight will bring home the win."

Shadow didn't share the same feelings as his teammate. How is it that someone who has never made it past the first round suddenly increases entire performance by tenfold? The dark Knight had only seen one match and Gemini was able to finish it was a single punch to his opponent's forehead. Something was off about him. The silent hedgehog must have heard his thoughts as he shifted his gaze in Shadow's direction. Knuckles, who was watching the connection, was becoming irritated by Gemini's lack of interest.

"Hey, pay attention to the fight!" Knuckles exclaimed. "I'm gonna take you out in one shot!!"

"...." Gemini remained in everlasting silence.

The hot-blood echidna was now pissed beyond measure. Once given the signal from Elise, Knuckles stampeded across the arena with a furious battle cry and his namesake reeled backwards to strike. Once within range, he stabbed his spiked knuckles at the silent hedgehog's face – he was never able to make connect. Knuckles was barely able to choke out a single word and looked down to his stomach, where Gemini's knee had landed. The silent hedgehog moved his leg, never leaving eye contact with Shadow, and allowed the echidna to fall unconscious to the ground. A long period of silence flooded the crowd.

"In a...um, one-hit KO...Gemini is the...uh, winner." Elise announced feebly.

The crowd showed no reaction, even as Gemini left the arena. Rouge was one of the people to run to Knuckles' aid before the medical team ran over to carry him away for healing. Gemini's eyes followed the jet-black hedgehog for a long moment until they completely passed each other and the silent hedgehog disappeared into the streets.

"When did Gemini get that good?" Tails asked fearfully.

"That's not Gemini." The remaining Knights turned to the left, finding Zeenint being carried by Armand and Damien. "I have been watching Gemini train and he was completely different from yesterday. He could never be able to get that strong in such a short amount of time."

"So you think its an imposter?" Shadow questioned.

"I don't know who he is, but he's going down." Zeenint said as he was lifted away. "Do me a favor: thrash him."

That was the last time Shadow had seen the Soleanna Signer before they left their territory – they were ashamed. But Zeenint's words clinged to the Keyblade Master's mind. If this guy impersonating Gemini was powerful enough to defeat Armand and Knuckles with only one shot, then there was no possible reason he could be the original.

Shadow was in trouble.

* * *

**The long-awaited tournament leads to a new set of mysteries. How was Gemini able to grow so dramatically? Does Shadow stand a chance against this super powered hedgehog? And what will become of the tournament's final battle? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	7. Struggle for Survival, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Five: Struggle for Survival, Part 2

The scene returns to the Brawlers Tournament, one hour after the semifinals had concluded. Both finalists were given this time to rest themselves after their previous matches, but Shadow doubted that Gemini would need it. In an unexpected display of skill and power, the hedgehog Signer was able to wipe out a majority of his competition with a single punch. He even brought Knuckles to his knees without even trying. At the moment, Shadow was sitting on a bench in the alleyway, preparing himself for the upcoming match.

"Ok, Shadow, this is the big moment." Tails said encouragingly while rubbing the hedgehog's shoulders. "I noticed that in all of Gemini's matches, his left side is always exposed. But then again, the matches only lasted twenty seconds. So the best thing to do would be to drag the fight out long enough to..."

"Give him a break, Miles." Rouge said sternly across from them. "He needs to stay focused for the match."

"I'm glad you've decided to stay for my fight against Gemini." Shadow said appreciatively. "But are you sure you don't want to stay with Knuckles?"

"Knowing that hothead, he'll be up in ten minutes." Rouge said confidently. "Besides, I want to see that Signer imposter get what he deserves."

"Will Shadow the Hedgehog please report to the stage?!" Elise called over the loudspeaker. "Shadow the hedgehog, report to the stage immediately!"

The jet-black hedgehog sighed with anticipation, slowly standing and making his way back to the tournament. As he made his way around the corner, Gemini was discovered standing motionlessly in the center of ring – he hasn't moved since his last match. It was apparent that Elise was trying to keep her distance from him while standing precariously close to the edge of the ring. Relief broke out once Shadow jumped into the square battleground, taking his place at Elise's right side while Gemini took the left.

"And now, the match we've all been waiting for: Shadow vs. Gemini!" Elise announced, earning praise from her subjects. "Who will take hope the win and gain the chance to fight our reigning champion?!"

"Don't you dare screw this up, Shadow!!" Rouge screeched; unconsciously punch Tails in the face.

"Why is it always me?" Tails moaned.

"Good luck, Shadow." Elise whisper before escaping the arena.

The jet-black hedgehog had a feeling that he was going to need all the luck he could get. Shadow raised his fists defensively as Gemini turned to his side, watching his opponent with his empty stare. It was unexplainable – Shadow knew he felt this presence somewhere before. Once given the word by the princess, the final match of the Brawlers Tournament had begun.

* * *

**Unknown Brawler: "Gemini"**

The match had begun several minutes before, but neither Shadow nor Gemini had moved from their place. To those who were trained in advanced combat, they understood that both fighters were scanning for potential weak spots. But for a wide majority of the crowd, they were becoming rather impatient – they started throwing trash in the ring. But both hedgehogs ignored to piles of rubbish being thrown at their heads. Elise, who was standing besides Rouge and Tails, was forced to duck out of the way when one of the lunatic crowd members threw a couch.

"Uh...i don't mean to disturb you two." Elise said sheepishly into the microphone. "But could you please throw a punch before we have to deal with a riot?"

"Get a move on his already!" Rouge yelled impatiently, strangling her young friend.

Back in the arena, Shadow was shaken by the imposter's perfect stance. The Unknown Brawler had turned his left side to the Keyblade Master with his legs partially parted with his fists resting close to his waist. His defense was impossible to penetrate from a distance. Shadow unconsciously took a step backwards, throwing his opponent into action. Once the movement was made Gemini kicked forward and glided across the arena, swiping his hand overhead. Shadow effectively ducked at the attack, but not before he lost a few strands of his quill fur. With the Unknown Brawler still lingering above, the Keyblade Master lowered himself closer to the ground and thrusted his foot skyward. The tactic would have worked if not for the fact that the hedgehog imposter curved backwards in midair. Gemini pushed his palms off the ground and back flipped twice before stopping on the other side of the ring.

"That was amazing!" Elise announced excitedly. "I don't know what just happened, but it looks like Shadow has turned to tables on his opponent! He's got to be the first person to last this long in a fight with Gemini!"

"Losing...oxygen..." Tails gasped; Rouge's grip was getting stronger.

"_This is impossible._" Shadow thought, assuming his stance. "_I have fought Gemini over twenty times and he has never been this skilled before._

"_Are you confused, my liege?_"

Shadow's expression was one of shock once realizing that the words had come directly from Gemini's mouth. The jet-black hedgehog knew at once where he had obtained his suspicious power – he was working with the silver monsters. With the revelation discovered, Gemini dashed ahead and stabbed his hands in a rapid motion. The Keyblade Master was forced to sidestep left and right with speeds that he never realized his possessed. There was only moment when the Unknown Brawler slashed his hand across Shadow's forearm, drawing blood. The dark Knight was forced closer to the edge of the arena and the only option left was him to follow his instincts. And surprisingly enough, they pulled through for him. An unknown reaction commanded Shadow to drop close to the ground and swiped across the ground until he stood directly behind Gemini. And before the Unknown Brawler could counter the attack, Shadow kicked the imposter off the edge.

"This is it!" Elise screamed happily. "Shadow's going to win the match."

"_I will not surrender so easily, Lord Scion._" Gemini said.

And without warning, the Signer imposter stopped in midair only as few inches from the street. The expression of shock echoed across the audience – Gemini began floating back towards the arena and landed on the other side.

"What the hell?" Shadow growled.

"_The Superior is waiting, my liege._" Gemini said ominously. "_You must return to us, Lord Scion._"

"How many times to I have to tell you?!" Shadow exclaimed heatedly. "My name is Shadow?!"

"Uh...we already know your name, Shadow." Elise asked edgily. "Are you feeling all right? Do you sure you don't need any medical attention? We could postpone the match if you want."

"_They cannot hear us, Lord Scion._" Gemini informed. "_We are speaking through thought alone. You have commanded our armies at your personal will. You could regain that power if you return home, Lord Scion._"

"_I already found my home._" Shadow glared. "_And you're not welcome._"

The imposter's eyes narrowed darkly – he was not pleased by the Keyblade Master's answer. Gemini brought his hands together, forming a seal while muttering under his breath. A sudden chill washed over the plaza and a sense of nostalgia flared within Shadow's heart. A powerful white aura formed around the imposter's body, which could only be seen by the jet-black hedgehog, and slowly separated into five fragments. But along with the flare of energy, the Unknown Brawler was agonizingly ripped into six individual hedgehogs. After everything he has seen, Shadow was not at all surprised by this.

"What in the name of Solaris is going on here?!" Elise yelled into the microphone. "There are now..." She took a moment to count them. "Six! Six Gemini's have appeared on the field."

"Hey, that's got to be cheating!" Rouge screamed insanely, punching Tails in the nose. By this time, the youngest Knight had already passed out. "Will someone get a rulebook?!"

Back in the arena, Shadow had placed himself on the defensive while the six Gemini clones surrounded the Keyblade Master on every side. The dark Knight reached to his left to push away one of the hedgehog clones, only to receive a crushed kick to his chest from the opposite side. Shadow was thrown back into two Gemini's, who grabbed his arms to restrain his movements, and another of the imposters drilled his fist into the hedgehog's abdomen. The crowd groaned horridly, watching the clones take turns striking the defenseless hedgehog. A thick leak of blood slipped through Shadow's teeth and a blistering bruise was forming over his ribcage. And all his friends were helpless to only watch from the sidelines. Rouge, finally releasing the twin-tailed child, padded over to the princess and pulled her down by her collar.

"What the hell are you waiting for?!" Rouge screeched. "Can't you see he's cheating?!"

"We've already checked the rulebook twice." Elise answered nervously. "We can't disqualify Gemini because there is no rule saying he can't split himself into six parts."

"Why not?!" Rouge questioned irritably.

"We never expected anyone to do it!" Elise yelled in retaliation, prying the bat's hand off herself. "We can't stop the match until one of them is knocked-out, surrenders or is thrown out of the ring."

"Please let that be soon." Rouge pleaded.

Shadow was forced to endure the endless torture being forced upon him and was surprisingly doing well in his condition. The dark Knight had guessed that his endurance had increased dramatically until two Gemini clones drilled their fists simultaneously in his chest. He finally caught on – he wasn't stronger, they were weaker.

"_Splitting himself into six parts must have cut his power equally._" Shadow thought calculative; he ignored the beating he was receiving with ease. "_And if that's true..._"

The jet-black hedgehog lowered his head as the four Gemini clones brought their fists back for the finishing blow. And that was the turning point of the battle. Catching every by surprise, Shadow forced his arms ahead and lifted his captors off the ground, throwing them back with the rest of the pack. Two of the Gemini clones were smart enough to sidestep the counterattack, watching their counterparts pile on the ground. The remaining Brawlers gaped, turning their attention back to the jet-black hedgehog. Shadow had already skipped off the ground by the time they looked back and swiped his foot across their face, effectively knocking them back with the rest of the group. At the moment he landed, the Unknown Brawler rejoined into a single entity and lied unconscious on the arena floor.

"**Gemini": Defeated**

* * *

"In an amazing upstart, Shadow was able to use Gemini's own attack against him!" Elise announced excitedly. "And with that settled our new champion is Sha..."

For the second time in memory, the city of Soleanna was silenced. As Shadow's gaze followed the crowd, he noticed that everyone was frozen in place – time had once again been tampered with. The Keyblade Master could feel his heart beating intensely and his nervous expression was evident. His mind was directed towards one person.

"Kumori..." Shadow muttered hopefully. "Kumori, are you there?"

"_Lord Scion..._"

The Keyblade Master turned on his heels as the Gemini imposter slowly lifted himself off the ground, apparently unaffected by the temporal anomaly. The Unknown Brawled cracked his neck with his back turned to the hedgehog as a ghostly white light exploded from his body. The Keyblade Master raised his forearm to shield his eyes and dropped them at the moment his newest adversary appeared. The beast was silvery-white and crouched awkwardly with extendable claws, jagged antenna on its head, and a zipper covering its mouth. And like all the monsters Shadow had encountered previously, this beast presented the same symbol of its race: a turned heart with a spiked cross.

"You guys again." Shadow glared.

"_Lord Scion, head my warning._" The Wanderer hissed. "_If you do not return with me, only worse consequences will befall upon you._"

"Thanks, but I can take care of myself!" Shadow shouted.

And for the second time, Shadow threw his hand to the side, releasing a surge of light from his palm. He felt the familiar weight in his hand and the jet-black hedgehog gripped the Keyblade in preparation. Hissing defiantly, the Wanderer raised itself to full stature with its close pulled close to its chest. Then without warning, the silver beast stretched its claw across the arena and lashed through the air. Shadow was fortunate enough to block off one of the attacks, but was left unprepared once the second claw stabbed for his neckline. Relying on natural instincts, the Keyblade Master snapped his hand up and amazingly captured the Wanderer by its wrist. And with the opportunity set, Shadow tugged at the beast's arm and pulled its closer to himself. The jet-black hedgehog raised his foot and slammed his heel into the monster's face, shooting it back to its original position. However, the Wanderer shrugged it off and curved towards its target on all fours.

"I'll give you this much." Shadow said panting; he was still suffering from the previous battle. "You put up much more resistance than the ones before."

"_Lord Scion..._"

"And that's another thing!" Shadow shouted irritably. "My name isn't Scion!"

The Keyblade Master dashed across the ring and swiped his Keyblade across. But at the last moment, a white/grey vortex appeared in the background and absorbed the Wandered, particle by particle. Shadow's weapon did not reach the area until the beast was completely absorbed by the vortex, which faded from existence upon completion. The dark Knight instantly went on the defensive, turning occasionally for any signs of movement. This proved to be fruitless as the white/grey vortex silently opened behind the Keyblade Master, forming the missing Wanderer. The silver beast thrusted its leg ahead, pounding Shadow in the back of his head. Shadow was thrown face forward into the floor, spilling blood from his forehead – his Keyblade was sent flying and stabbing into the floor. With an irritable growl, Shadow kicked back up and swung his foot around, but the Wanderer had returned to its mystical vortex.

"Damn it!" Shadow swore loudly.. "Come out and show yourself!"

"Sounds like someone's losing there cool." A new voice laughed.

Shadow had momentarily forgotten the battle – had someone else escaped the temporal trap? Unfortunately, he was unable to examine the mystery when the Wanderer reappeared and clawed at his chest. The jet-black hedgehog skidded backwards, clutching the bloody marks on his chest before the silver beast returned to the vortex.

"_No one is invincible._" Shadow thought defiantly. "_Every creature has to have some kind of weakness. I just have to figure out what it is._"

And so the Keyblade Master maintained a motionless stance, waiting for the Wanderer's next opportunity to strike. Shadow closed his eyes and opened his other senses – he spotted the beast almost instantly. The Wanderer opened its vortex and slashed across the hedgehog's back before returning to the Realm of Nothingness. The silver soldier repeated this tactic four more times with the dark Knight forced to endure the pain. But with each strike, Shadow began to notice a pattern. With each attack, the Wandered formed a portal in its path before escaping its sanctuary. That went it hit him – it couldn't stop moving.

"_So that's your little secret, huh?_" Shadow smirked. "_Who would have thought it would be this simple._"

His Keyblade was resting only a few feet away, just out of his reach. If he was ever going to get the opportunity, he would need to take it now. So at the moment the Wanderer appeared from the vortex, Shadow swiftly rolled to the side and made a dash for his chosen weapon. At the same moment he grabbed the handle, the silver soldier had summoned a vortex to escape – he was only given one shot at this. Sliding across the ground, Shadow took a wild shot and curved his Keyblade across the air in the direction of the beast. The Wanderer had nearly made it through the vortex when a glimmering silver swiped across its neckline. The vortex vanished and the Wanderer's body skidded across the arena with its head rolling in the opposite direction. Shadow reached out and grabbed the Keyblade from the air as the soldier's body faded into nothingness.

"It's finally over." Shadow panted. As he looked around the plaza, all his friends still remained frozen in time. "Now what do I do about this mess?"

All of a sudden, a suspicious sound echoed across the silent plaza – it sounded like clapping. And then a voice followed it's with a sense of familiarity crossing the Keyblade Master's mind.

"Still in top form, eh, Scion?"

* * *

**The mysteries surrounding Scion and Shadow are reaching their highest point. Why are these creatures desperate to capture Shadow? Has the Keyblade Master stumbled on to an unknown secret? And who is the newcomer? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	8. Struggle for Survival, Part 3

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Six: Struggle for Survival, Part 3

The scene returns to the Brawlers Tournament shortly following Shadow's victory over the impersonating Gemini. The deceiver revealed itself as a member of the silver creatures that have attempted to capture him at every turn. With a better understanding of the Keyblade, Shadow narrowly escaped capture once again. But even after the battle, Shadow learned that time was still frozen and his friends were out of his reach. And just as he began to formulate a plan to counteract this unusual effect, a noise echoed across the silent plaza. The sound suspiciously resembled a clapping hand – someone else was here with him.

"Still in top form, eh, Scion?"

The tone and volume of the voice echoed within the depth of the Keyblade Masters mind. The dark Knight turned on his heels to face an unknown entity wearing the same Black Cloak as his previous two attackers stepped into the plaza. He knew this creature was different – he was taller than the last two and possessed two silky, black wings exposed from his back. Shadow stepped back and clutched the handle of his Keyblade as the clapping intruder approached lightly with a surprising spring in his step.

"All right, I knew you were too good to go down that easily, Scion." The hooded man laughed; Shadow glared challengingly. "Whoa, what's with the look? Don't you remember who I am?"

"Am I supposed to?" Shadow questioned.

The hooded fighter stiffened, apparently stunned by the black hedgehog's reaction. Without further delay, he raised his hands and lifted the hood over his face. The unknown character was a matured back with crimson-red bat with pointed ears and a white crescent-moon birthmark stamped on his forehead. For one quick moment, Shadow believed his eyes were burning-orange until a double take made he realize that they were a calm violet.

"It's me: Terro." Terro said hopefully, but received no reaction. "Man, they must have done a number on you. You're as much as a zombie as when we first met. And I don't think even the Dusks are gonna get through your thick skull."

"Wait a sec." Shadow said confused. "What's going on around here?"

"This town is her creation, right?" Terro said, pulling up his sleeves away from his hands. "Which means we don't have time for a Q&A. You're coming with me, conscious or not. Then you'll hear the story, Scion."

There it was again – that name. This insane bat was working for those silver creatures...or were they working for him? The Keyblade Master tried to distance himself from the Deceptive Rouge. But as he stepped backwards, he began to noticing an unusual occurrence. Soleanna's appearance became partially disoriented – Terro seemed just as worried as the black hedgehog. Shadow left so out of place. He was just a normal boy living an average life until the silver creatures began attacking him and the Keyblade. That's when it occurred to him. It was Shadow's fault; it was the Keyblade's.

"Why is this happening to me?!" Shadow screamed, throwing the Keyblade to the ground. Much to his dismay, the chosen weapon returned to his hand in a flash of light. "What did I do to deserve this? Just who am I?"

"I tell you exactly who you are." Terro said seriously. "No. XIII of Order XIII – Scion, The Key of Destiny and the chosen wielder of the Keyblade. You can't run from the truth, Scion."

"Just....shut up!" Shadow roared.

* * *

**The Deceptive Rogue: Terro**

Strengthen by his anger and confusion, Shadow dashed ahead and swiped the Keyblade around for the bat's legs. But at the last moment, Terro lifted his foot off the ground, equally avoiding the hit and kicking Shadow's left eye. The Keyblade Master staggered backwards, holding his optical as Terro relaxed his hands with a superior smirk. Hissing, the dark Knight made another charge, dragging his Keyblade across the ground with an irritable screech. The Deceptive Rogue curved his back to avoid the hedgehog's uppercut when he discovered that it was merely a ploy. Shadow curved his Keyblade in midair and snapped the blunt side of his weapon into the crook of Terro's neck. The Deceptive Rogue was pushed back by the initial shock, but soon shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"Even after all this time, I still haven't figured out a way to block that." Terro chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" Shadow questioned.

"That isn't the first time you used that tactic." Terro stated certainly. "Let me tell ya, I needed to get a lot of surgery done just to first my neck the first time. You're a real troublemaker, Scion."

"How many times do I have to tell you guys?!" Shadow growled. "My name is Shadow!"

"Ok, maybe a little too dramatic." Terro commented.

The Deceptive Rogue and the Keyblade Master jumped ahead, meeting each other in the center of the arena. Shadow swiped his Keyblade three times to the left and once to the right, each one blocked by Terro's forearms. And at one point, the dark Knight swung overhead with a powerful strike. However, the crimson warrior was able to catch the head of the blade between his hands and tossed Shadow to his right side. The black hedgehog curved in midair and landed on his feet at the same moment Terro decided to go on the offensive. The Deceptive Rogue thrusted his foot against Shadow's ankle, forcing the Keyblade Master to the ground. With a quick turn on his heel, Terro back-kicked the black hedgehog's forehead, tossing him back to the edge of the ring. Shadow tried to stand, but Terro appeared overhead and pressed his foot into the hedgehog's chest to keep him down.

"Just do me a favor and stay down, Scion." Terro said victoriously.

"My name is Shadow." Shadow said lowly.

"This has gone on long enough."

Terro turned his attention backwards while Shadow curved his head to gain a better vantage point. A column of data erupted from the left side of the ring, depositing ZoN in its place – Terro glared spitefully at the masked woman.

"So it was you after all." Terro said lowly.

The Deceptive Rogue released his hold over Shadow and stretched his wings across, allowing him to hover a few inches off the ground. At that moment, Terro launched across the air, holding his claws forward to rip the masked leader's throat. However, ZoN held her hands forward and summoned a shield of light between them, throwing the Deceptive Rogue to the other end of the arena. With Terro temporarily incapacitated, she turned her focus on Shadow.

"Shadow, do not listen to him." ZoN said warningly. "This man speaks nonsense."

"Scion, you can't let her deceive you!" Terro shouted pleadingly.

"Shadow!" ZoN exclaimed.

"Scion!" Terro yelled.

The jet-black hedgehog was back on his feet again, caught between a war of two people that seemed oddly familiar in his memories. The Keyblade Master felt the pressure in his mind as both oppositions called for his respective names. ZoN called him Shadow, but her voice did not sound sincere. Terro called him Scion and it sound familiar, but could he trust someone that attacked him? Shadow wanted nothing more than to escape this torture, to return to his friends.

"Get...out...of...my..." Shadow grunted weakly until suddenly breaking loose. "Head!!"

**Terro: Undecided**

* * *

The sound of the cheering crowd returned to his senses. As Shadow slowly opened his eyes, he was quick to discover that the Keyblade, ZoN, and Terro had all disappeared at once. Gemini, who he was fighting earlier, was lying on the ground feebly while the jet-black hedgehog noticed that his body was free from any scratches or bruises. It was as if the whole event had never occurred.

"Um...does anyone know what happened?" Elise questioned into the microphone.

"Ugh...what hit me?" Gemini groaned, pushing up to his knees. "How did I get here? The last thing I remember, I was practicing in the tunnels when that monster attacked me."

So it wasn't just his imagination. The silver creatures had possessed Gemini and controlled him like a puppet. Limping only slightly, the Signer warrior carried himself out of the arena as Elise announced Shadow as the new Brawlers Tournament champion. The confused hedgehog sighed and jumped down from the ring at the same moment as Rouge pushed her way to her friend; Tails was lying unconscious on the ground.

"Shadow, what happened in there?" Rouge questioned. "One moment, you and Gemini were fighting for your lives. And the next minute, Gemini was knocked out."

"I'll...explain to you later." Shadow lied weakly. "Listen, I only have five minutes to rest up before the championship match with Hybrid, so would you mind...?"

The white bat nodded in understanding and disappeared into the crowd, most likely to tell Knuckles about the news. Shadow walked into the alley and sat on a discarded crate, contemplating the events that had occurred over the past four days. The picture thief, the man in black, the silver giant, and Terro. There were so many answers to be explained and he knew only one person that could provide answers instead of riddles: Kumori. The only difficulty was finding her. Shadow spent the remainder of his five minute reprieve calculating the best possible locations to find the female hedgehog when his name was called for the final match. Stretching his muscles, the jet-black hedgehog walked out of the alley when he was nearly knocked on his side but a sharp jab to his left shoulder.

"You almost had me worrying there." Knuckles chuckled tauntingly.

"Well, look who's finally up." Shadow smirked as Rouge and Tails joined their side. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to see you back in action. After all, it's not everyday you get to see someone else steal your dream."

"Laugh while you can." Knuckles said confidently. "I'll be training nonstop for next year's tournament and knock you right off your pedestal."

"We'll see." Shadow waved mockingly.

"Will Shadow the Hedgehog make his way to center ring?" Elise requested over the loudspeakers.

With a nod to his team, the Keyblade Master pushed past the crowd and jumped into the arena. Hybrid was already prepared on the other end of the ring, adjusting the metal clasps on his forearms. The Brawler Champion held a dignified expression –he was not worried of losing his title to Shadow.

"You realize that only one of us will emerge as the victor." Hybrid said loudly for all to hear. "And we all know who that's going to be. So do yourself a favor and forfeit before you humiliate yourself in public."

"We'll see who's talking after I wipe that ugly smirk off your face." Shadow retorted.

"And the gauntlet has been thrown down!" Elise shouted excitedly. "The final match of the Brawlers Tournament is about to begin! Shadow, the underdog hero, vs. Hybrid, the two-year reigning champion! Will Hybrid make this his third consecutive win as Brawler Champion?! Or will there be a new leader to wear the crown?!"

"You don't even need to ask." Hybrid said confidently.

* * *

**Brawler Champion: Hybrid**

Shadow took his position with his legs spread apart, his left hand close to his leg with his right fist clenched behind his head. The current champion took a simple stance with one foot in front of the other and his palms opened forward stacked on top each other. To people outside the arena, it looked as if her had left himself open on all side, but Shadow's opinion was different.

"_He's completely protected._" Shadow thought. "_If I make an attempt anywhere, he'll have the perfect opportunity to counterattack from either direction. I guess he isn't the reigning champion for nothing._"

"Now do you see it?" Hybrid smirked. "The ultimate defense created to give me complete sigh around my body and opens my arms for swift movement. It cannot be penetrated."

"We'll just see about that." Shadow stated.

With speeds that surprised even himself, Shadow dashed across the arena and thrusted his fist into Hybrid's face in one a second. But even with the advanced speed and skills he received from the Keyblade, the Brawler Champion was still able to block the attack with his forearm. Hybrid used the jet-black hedgehog's shock to his advantage and swiped his leg upwards in the direction of his chin. Thankfully, Shadow curved backwards in time to dodge and back flipped three times before stopping on the other end of the arena. But much to his amazement, Hybrid followed shortly behind with speeds that equaled the Keyblade Master. The Brawler Champion swiped his hand across, but Shadow sharply ducked and lowered himself to kick at the back of the champion's legs. However, Hybrid caught himself before hitting and back flipped before landing perfectly poised.

"Whoa, look at those sparks fly!" Elise shouted excitedly over the cheers. "If anyone was able to see that, would you mind coming down and taking over for the play-by-play?!"

"Come on, Shadow!" Rouge screamed, punching her bewildered victim in the face.

"Rouge!" Knuckles exclaimed

The female Knight looked under her arm and found her boyfriend trapped in the bat's headlock – Tails smiled victoriously. Meanwhile, Hybrid and Shadow were moving in a complete circle around the arena, never leaving each other's sights.

"You're much better than I could have hoped for." Hybrid stated. "But it's still not enough."

"We'll see about that." Shadow glared.

After passing two circles around one another, the ultimate warriors in Soleanna were launched back into the battle. Anyone who was outside of the ring could not tell what was occurring between them. Shadow and Hybrid was only a few inches from one another and were throwing a ballistic series of punches and kicks that were unseen by normal eyes. During a few short moments, either fighter showed displays of pain in-between blows. After a minute of blurred fighting, the two warriors jumped back to their side of the ring – the crowd was silent with expectation. Shadow was sporting a weltering black-eye, two new bruises on his chest, and his left ankle was shaking awkwardly. Hybrid's hair was tangled and wild, the bands on his right arm were broken off, and a thin trail of blood traced from his nose. The two warriors panted heavily, but neither was willing to surrender so easily. And with the last of their strength, both fighters jumped ahead with their fist drawn forward. And at the moment they were about to make contact...they vanished.

"Uh..." Elise stammered confused. "Anyone see where they went?"

The audience shrugged simultaneously. And then it happened. A plowed trail of earth skidded across the arena, out into the main plaza, and exploded against the wall. There were many screams emerging from the audience, but Elise and the Knights dashed forward towards the area. The small squad waited for the dust to clear and discovered..........Hybrid. The Brawler Champion was pressed into the wall without a clear thought of where he was and his chin soaked in blood from his mouth. As a result of this discovery, the audience looked back to the arena and found shadow standing proudly with his right fist coated in the champion's blood. Or should we say former champion.

**Hybrid: defeated**

* * *

"And there you have it folk!" Elise screamed happily. "Shadow is the new champion of the Brawlers Tournament."

Excitement and cheers of the hedgehog's name broke out across the plaza. Even the Soleanna Signer's who were hiding in the alleyway, could not resist their curiosity. Though drenched in blood and too tired to move, Shadow threw his hand into the air and accepted the praise of his new followers. Hybrid, who was being carried away for medical attention, sighed peacefully – he was happy to lose to a worthy opponent. Much to his surprise and joy, Knuckles had pulled his friend atop his shoulders and carried him to Elise with the other two Knights at his side. With a proud smile on her face, Elise handed the championship belt that had formerly belong to Hybrid.

"You did great, Shadow." Elise said silently until addressing the audience. "Allow me to present our newest champion!"

The jet-black hedgehog raised his new belt into the air and sent the crowd in a whirlwind of screams – this was the greatest moment of Shadow's life.

* * *

The scene alternates to the top of Elise's castle as the sun began to set over the horizon. After cleaning himself up, Shadow sat at his usual place at the top of the castle with the rest of his friends to join him. The jet-black hedgehog had dropped the championship belt back at his home, but carried the Four Crystal Trophy with him. One at a time, he ripped each orb off the stand and tossed one to each of his friends. The yellow crystal went to Rouge, Knuckles received the red crystal, and Tails nearly dropped the green crystal. Shadow took the blue crystal for himself and tossed the useless stand over his shoulder. With a sense of pride, Shadow held the crystal out into view towards the distant sun – the color reminded him of something.

"As promised." Shadow said lightly as the others followed his example.

"Thanks a ton, Shadow." Tails said gratefully.

"One more treasure for us to share." Knuckles chuckled.

"I also brought a present." Rouge said sneakily, pulling out four hidden ice creams. "Ta-da! You may all applaud now."

The trio of men laughed at the joke and shadow stood to his feet as he was ready to receive his gift. But the black hedgehog suddenly lost his footing and tripped over the edge of the castle tower, closing the gap between him and the ground below.

* * *

The scene alternates to a distant land...on another world. A series of island were the only forms of land in an infinite ocean, which was famously recognized as the famous beginning of the Heartless invasion. Standing at the top of the main island hills, Amy Rose leaned against the poles on the side road while staring out into the sunset.

"Amy?" The pink hedgehog turned her head, finding Raine staring at her in curiosity. "Amy, do you realize this is the second week you've skipped school in the last month. The teachers and the mayor are starting to get upset."

"I just didn't feel like going today." Amy sighed, looking back to the ocean.

"What's wrong with you, Amy?" Raine asked concerned. "You've been skipping school randomly for a whole year and all you ever do is stand on the beach and stare at the second island all day. Is there something bothering you?"

"Raine..." Amy said softly. "Do you remember those boys we used to hang out with back then?"

"You mean Espio?" Raine replied curiously. "I wonder whatever happened to him. He disappeared after that weird storm and never came back. I hope he's all right."

"Trust me; you have no reason to worry about him." Amy giggled. "And...Do you remember the other boy?"

"What other boy?" Raine asked.

The one who was with Espio and I all the time." Amy answered certainly. "We played together on that island everyday when we were little. His voice always used to be there...but now it's gone. I can't think of his face or his name – I feel awful about it. And so I made a decision: I'm not going back to the island until I remember everything about him."

"Are you sure you didn't make him up?" Raine asked.

"I'm sure." Amy answered confidently.

"_Kumori?_"

All of a sudden, Amy's mind accelerated to an unparalleled rate, leaving her unable to catch up with her own thoughts. The stress was so overwhelming that the Princess of Heart collapsed dully, sending Raine into panic. While the little butterfly tried to find out what was wrong with her friend, the thoughts of Amy and Shadow crossed through the reaches of time and space.

"_Kumori, what's happening?_" Shadow asked scared.

"_Who are you?_" Amy replied uncertainly. "_And that's not my name. I'm Amy._"

"_Amy..._" Shadow hummed thoughtfully. "_Oh yeah, you're that girl he likes._"

"_Who?_" Amy asked hopefully. "_Please, I need a name!_"

"_I'm Shadow._" Shadow responded.

"_Ok, Shadow, but can you tell me his name?_" Amy requested.

"_You can't even remember my name?_" A third voice laughed joking; Amy gasped shockingly. "_Some friend you turned out to be, Ames. Well...I guess I could give you one little hint. It starts with an S._"

And from that point, the connection between them was broken. With her mind returned to her own body, Amy slowly opened her eyes and snapped up to the sitting position, stunning her little friend. And before the young butterfly had a chance to ask of her condition, the pink hedgehog jumped up and took off running down the hill. She never stopped to talk or wave hello to the inhabitant of the island, her thought were only set on the vast and mysterious ocean. It was where the answers were hidden. And the moment her feet touched the sand, she wasted no time rummaging through her pockets, looking for something she had been planning to this day. Raine had only arrived just in time as Amy had retrieved a bottle, containing a note, and watched the hedgehog set it free into the waters.

"What...was...that?" Raine panted.

"A letter." Amy answered happily. "I wrote it last night to the boy I couldn't remember. I said that no matter where he is, I'll find him one day. And when I stopped writing, I remembered that we made a promise, something important. This letter is where it starts."

"That sound so romantic." Raine sighed dramatically. "I hope he gets it."

"He will." Amy smiled. "Starts with an S. Isn't that right...Sonic?"

* * *

The scene alternates to the lost worlds between light and darkness, existing only in the void of nothingness. While a dark and desolate city covered in towers and skyscrapers rulers the land, an even more amazing structure ruled the skies. A white castle formed from thirteen turrets and the symbol of its masters in every direction: A turned heart with a spiked cross. The unblemished castle contained many secrets, including a room unreachable by normal means. A circular chamber of thirteen white thrones, each at a different level, all facing inwards. Terro was seated in the middle row of the thrones while two of his superiors looked down upon them.

"Get rid of him?!" Terro questioned outrageously. "Wait a minute! Isn't it a bit early for that?!"

"It is an order." No. III stated monotonously. "Why are you hesitating? Aren't you the one who dealt swift, merciless judgments to those who turned their backs against the Order?"

"He has turned his back on us!" Terro yelled. "He's just not able to come back yet!"

"If he does not return, he must pay the price." No. III responded, withdrawing a black rod from his sleeve. "If you oppose these orders, you will be the one to pay."

The third member of the Order released his weapon, stabbing the pointed rod into the back of Terro's throne, only inches from the bat's head. The Deceptive Rogue seemed unimpressed by this assault as the elder member began to withdraw a second rod. But then the Superior held his hand to stop them. No. III nodded in obedience and recalled his weapon. The Order leader held out his hand and summoned a collective amount of energy into a small sphere with enough power to kill them all. At this point, Terro knew he was defeated.

"Fine, I get it." Terro sighed. "I'll bring him back or kill him trying."

* * *

_~Restoration at 79%~_

The scene returns to ZoN secret underground chamber. The masked enigma was astonished by the progress they had made and could even sense the surprised reaction from her hooded partner. Deathwing and the feminine warrior had left them earlier for a needed assignment, which is exactly what ZoN had hoped for. The hooded man was tossing a blue crystal in his hand while overlooking the data from his position.

"This sudden climb in or progress is truly a miracle." ZoN said solemnly. "I couldn't have hoped we would be done this soon."

"So what happened?" The man questioned, placing the orb in the pouch he had stolen earlier.

"Kumori's encounter with Scion put his mind in contact with Amy's." ZoN answered complicatedly. "And that, in turn, affected Sonic. Sonic and Amy had always possessed a strong bond and this fated meeting has madder that bond stronger."

"Kumori..." The man murmured. "She's a wonder."

"She wasn't born like other Nobodies." ZoN proclaimed. "She can interfere with the hearts of Sonic and those aligned with him. This was proven when we had to recover those stolen memories and return them to their rightful owner."

"But who's Nobody is she?" The man asked.

"I could tell you..." ZoN said coldly. "But first, you will tell me your real name. I can tell by your foul stench of darkness that you are not Espio. So, who have I let slip into the Seeker's private affairs."

The hooded man stiffened only slightly upon being discovered, but then began to snigger in a malevolent manner. Without hesitation, he reached his hands above and threw the hood off, revealing his dark visage. Mephiles went by many names – the ruler of Hollow Bastion, the Seeker of Darkness, and father of Amy. To see him alive once again after his defeat at the hands of both Sonic and Espio was a surprise altogether.

"My name is Mephiles." Mephiles answered. He held his palm to ZoN's face and collected his energy into a spherical form. "And I have everything I need to know."

"I must say, it's nice to meet you again, Mephiles." ZoN spoke as if to an old friend. "I still remember the time Metal and I assisted in your daughter's escape. So hard to see good men fall so easily."

"Do you not fear death?" Mephiles growled.

"On the contrary." ZoN answered solemnly. "I wish I had died years ago."

Mephiles and ZoN were locked in a grudging stare – both sides vibrated with feelings of mutual dislike. On the outside of the ancient ruins, the ground beneath the left wing exploded with Mephiles' laugh echoing through the forest.

* * *

**And long day finally ends with new faces and new questions. How has Mephiles suddenly returned to life? Why does Order XIII wish to capture Shadow? And whose memories were lost in addition to Sonic's? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	9. An Unnatural Wonder, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Seven: An Unnatural Wonder, Part 1

Shadow snapped awake, clutching his chest with sweat racing down his forehead. He had imagined death would have been more painful, yet he didn't feel a thing. And as he looked around to what he believed to be the afterlife, he was discovered to be sitting on his bed within his own home, far from Elise's castle. The Jet-black hedgehog sighed in relief.

"It was only a dream." Shadow murmured.

But at that moment, his elbow touched something hard and cold resting on the headboard of his mattress. You could only imagine the look on his expression when he found Hybrid's championship belt. The Keyblade Master fell out of bed in fright, crawling away from the trophy as it were a plague.

"It wasn't a dream!" Shadow exclaimed. "Everything – Terro, the monster, that one guy – it was all real! But...how can I still be...alive?"

* * *

The scene alternates to the Kingdom Knight's Usual Spot at the edge of their territory. The moment Shadow walked into the warehouse, none of his friends seemed the least bit surprised that the jet-black hedgehog was still breathing. Knuckles did congratulate him on his victory over Hybrid, but made no mention of the events afterwards. But at this point, that was the least of his concerns. There were only three days left until Summer Vacation was over and that meant summer homework was required to be done. And as usual, Rouge was the one scolding the men over the assignment.

"Come on, Rouge." Knuckles pleaded from the rafters. "We still have three days left until the summer is over. Can't we just do it tomorrow?"

"We've put off the assignment for the past two months!" Rouge said in a stern manner. "We need to get the work done now! Next to Tails, I hold the highest average of anyone and you barely pull a C+! Tails and I aren't going to make excuses for you or Shadow this year!"

"Alright, already!" Knuckles shouted in response. "We'll do the damn assignment! I still regret the day you convinced us to sign up for independent study." He jumped down and landed softly, turning his focus to the group. "So, anyone got any bright ideas for a topic?"

"Maybe...we could study the stuff that's been happening to me lately." Shadow suggested hopefully. "You know – the dreams and the guys in black coats."

"I don't think that's a good idea?" Knuckles answered, surprising the hedgehog. "I have to admit that things have been weird with you and the town since the photos were stolen."

"That's why we're going to search the town tomorrow." Tails informed happily. "We've got as many people to help us investigate all the weird things going on and find out about the men in black coats that you've been seeing. We've even got Elise, Hybrid, and some of the Brawler Gangs to help out."

"All that...for me?" Shadow asked heartfelt. "You know, I'll go get some ice cream. Then we can talk about what we're going to work on for the project."

And in less than five minutes, the Kingdom Knight were sitting in a circle, eating Sea-Salt ice cream, while passing around ideas for their summer homework. Knuckles had earlier suggested a report on the Brawlers Tournament, only to have Tails point out that most people will be choosing the same topic. Rouge had come up with a suggestion on the social relations between citizens and workers in Soleanna – the guys were out in two seconds. And seeing as how Shadow's subject of the men in black coats was shot down, he was left without any other suggestions. The gang of four was at a loss...until..."

"I heard this strange rumor going around." Tails said suddenly, drawing all eyes. "You know the stone steps at the Sunset Hill? We use them all the time, without even thinking about it."

"You want us to do a report on steps?" Knuckles scoffed.

"No, that's not it." Tails shook his head. "I heard a wild rumor that the steps count differently up and down when ever you walk on them?"

"Are you serious?" Rouge laughed humorously. "Just sounds like someone whose lost count."

"That's not the only rumors I've heard about the town." Tails continued dramatically. "There are supposedly six other weird stories going on around here. People call them the Seven Wonders of Soleanna."

"That sounds like something worth being reported." Knuckles grinned deviously. "Tails, I know you have heard this before, but you are a bonafide genius."

"Aw, it was nothing." Tails said embarrassingly. "I think we should all take a trip to Sunset Hill and investigate the rumors before anyone else tries to make a discovery."

"Then we better head to the train station." Knuckles acknowledged, breaking into a serious run. "Last one there has to buy ice cream!"

"Hey, no fair!" Rouge exclaimed.

Shadow could only laugh at the childish antics of his friends and followed his companions in a brisk walk until they were completely out of his sight. Now while the jet-black hedgehog did not care for competition, he didn't have the rings to afford anymore ice cream today. So the Keyblade Master used his secret shortcut through the sewers and dashed through the maintenance tunnels to the train station two minutes before the others reached him. Rouge did question why Shadow smelled like raw sewage, but the dark Knight quickly brushed it off as Knuckles returned with the tickets. The group of four stood to the side of the rails as their destined transported approached.

"The time has come." Tails said dramatically. "Our journey for the seven wonders begins."

"Why are you talking like that?" Shadow questioned awkwardly.

"Sorry, just trying to add the effects." Tails grinned sheepishly.

"Just get on." Rouge ordered, shoving the little kitsune through the doors.

One by one, the Kingdom Knight filed through the doorway as passengers exited through the other end. It was a rare occasion that there were any free seats on the trains, but today was a lucky break for them. The group of four took the entire train car for themselves as they set off for their destination n the other side of town. There was a long and tense period of silence between the four, which unsettled Shadow – they were normally vibrant with energy. The awkward moment was shattered as Shadow watched Rouge reach into her pocket and retrieve the yellow crystal Shadow had given them the previous day. The white bat held the crystal towards the sun, witnessing the reflection of the lights. Tails and Knuckles follow with their own crystals, leaving Shadow to sit in silence. The dark Knight tried to locate his own crystal, but the blue sphere was missing – or was it stolen? Given the recent days, it didn't really surprise him.

"We're almost there." Knuckles said; Shadow jumped slightly.

After what seemed like centuries, the train car came to a screeching halt and the doors opened sharply. As Shadow crossed through the threshold, he was given an unobstructed view of Sunset Hill. In contrast to the section that the Kingdom Knights and the Soleanna Signers controlled, the town opened into a cultural terrace. And evergreen hillside overshadowed the small town at its base, which was abundant in grass and trees to give it a natural appearance. The group of four leaned against the railing, staring at the countryside with relaxed postures.

"Ah, I just love coming out to this part of town." Rouge sighed happily. "It always makes me feel like I'm spending the day in the valley were I was born. It's much better than that overcrowded city we control."

"This is the place where we had our first date." Knuckles grinned pervertedly. "You know, maybe later tonight we could..."

"Why don't you settle that for some other day?" Shadow commanded sharply; Tails looked confused. "Right now, I think we're supposed to get finished with a homework assignment."

"Y-yeah, right." Rouge stammered embarrassingly. She pushed the group ahead, stopping at the stone steps that lead into the suburban area. "Aren't these the steps you were talking about? The ones that count different going up and down?"

"Actually...there's a funny story about that." Tails chuckled hesitantly. "You see...Damian was the one who counted the steps going up and down. And every time he counted, he always ended up with a different number. He told Armand and Gemini and that's how the rumor started."

"Well, Damien is the only one who could get a lower math grade than Knuckles." Shadow joked.

"Hey!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"That's one rumor busted." Tails said, retrieving a roll of paper from his bushy tails. "And according to what I've heard, we have six other wonders to look for. I think we should look for 'The Friend from Beyond the Wall'."

"What's that about?" Rouge asked.

"There's supposedly this alley wall that shoots out balls at random." Tails explained eagerly. "Some people go back there and say that the balls just appear out of nowhere. I'll bet we'll figure it out before anyone else."

"I think we should split up and look for the alley." Knuckles said strategically. "That way, we can spread our search and find the wall faster. Whoever finds it first will report back to the others immediately."

"Yes, sir!" The gang said in mock salute.

And with that, the Kingdom Knights parted in their separate directions. Seeing how the assignment was supposed located in the back alleys of the town, Shadow escaped the wide roads and scraped around the trash littered narrows. Shadow pressed his hands against the walls and touched every solid surface that could possibly lead him to his intended target. But during one unfortunate incident, the jet-black hedgehog reached out without looking and felt something unusually soft and firm. The dark Knight snapped his head back in attention, finding Rouge and his hand held firm on her rear. The feminine Knight grew a throbbing vein on her forehead and Shadow received a palm-shaped welt on his face.

"It's not like I did it on purpose." Shadow mumbled, resuming his work. "Damn it, why did she have to hit me so hard? It still stings. I don't know how Knuckles can stand being around her without having to take a trip to the infirmary everyday."

The jet-black hedgehog continued muttering curses under his breath, inwardly hoping that Rouge wouldn't come back for a second helping. He crawled throw the alleyway – he was cautious where he placed his hands – and curved around to the deepest and farthest alley in Sunset Hill. Shadow staggered close to the face of the wall, knocking his fist against the surface and receiving an unusually dull clunk. Now as far as he knew, none of the structures in Soleanna were made of metal. So why would this anomaly exist?

"Is there something that I am missing here?" Shadow murmured, folding his arms over one another. "Maybe it's just my imag..." All of a sudden, two pure-white balls exploded silent on either side of him. "What the he...?"

A third ball escaped the stone wall and smacked the dark Knight directly in the chest. Shadow was carried by the unknown enigma and tossed out of the alleyway as the solid substance vanished from the realm of existence. The jet-black hedgehog groaned, massaging the bump that had formed on is head when landing. And before the Keyblade Master could attempt to stand, two more white balls jumped from the walls and dived for his position. Using some well placed timing, Shadow pushed against his arms and jumped overhead of the white spheres and landed before they could it. At the same time, another round ball appeared, but Shadow effortlessly knocked it to the side with his hand.

"Ok, this is the fourth time a wall has attacked me." Shadow said seriously. "And I'm pretty certain the Soleanna Signers aren't behind this one."

"_Scion...Scion...Scion..._"

"That name." Shadow growled, shortly breaking into a shout. "Who are you?! Are you Terro or that woman in black?!"

The jet-black hedgehog knew he must have looked stupid yelling at a wall, but that was the least of his concerns. This sentient being was calling him Scion – a name only referred to him by a certain number of individuals. Shadow's mind went wild when think of a particularly angelic individual. The Keyblade Master's mind was brought back to reality as two white balls erupted from the wall structure. Shadow snapped back into his fighter's position and threw his hands out, using the flying spheres as a base to flip over them. And while he was still trapped in midair, a third sphere was shot ahead with its targets sighted on the hedgehog's back. Shadow didn't understand the reason why, but his natural instincts commanded him to curve in the air – a feat he had never accomplished before. Trusting his senses, Shadow turned to the right and spiraled out of the ball's range, landing expertly back on his feet.

"Wow, I didn't know I was capable of that." Shadow laughed lightly. "Wait until I show the knucklehe – ooh!"

In the time he wasn't paying attention, two balls rebounded against the side walls and struck Shadow on the left side of his legs and the right side of his face. The simultaneous impacts twisted the hedgehog into the air and landed on his face, adding the pain already caused by Rouge. Shadow shrugged his head free of his pained thoughts and soon realized that the wall had distributed one last assault against the hedgehog. With the hedgehog still on his knees and the white ball only a foot away, any normal being would have been pounded in that instant. If you think Shadow is a normal being, you haven't been paying attention. At the last moment, the Keyblade Master curved his body around and performed a difficult sideswipe with his foot. The shock of the attack rebound the ball back into the wall, seemingly ending the unwarranted assault. As Shadow stood and faced the wall that had just attacked him, noticing a momentary stream of data circulating through the cracks.

"What the?" Shadow questioned.

"Hey, what's with all these balls?" The dark Knight looked back and found Knuckles inspecting the sphere on the ground with the other Knights behind him. "Think these are what everyone's talking about?"

"I can't think of any other place." Rouge responded.

The Keyblade Master raised his brow in confusion. The first ball that attacked him disappeared into oblivion. So why were the other spheres still remaining on the ground? Shadow looked back to the peculiar wall and took notice that the stream of data had vanished without a trace.

"Hey, Shadow, were you the one throwing those balls?" Tails asked as the group approached; Rouge acted reproachful to his presence. "We've been looking for them everywhere, but we couldn't figure out where to look first."

"Try looking for the wall that just attacked me!" Shadow exclaimed.

"A wall...attacked you." Knuckles repeated in disbelief. The hot-blooded fighter pressed his hands against the wall and Shadow awaited the attack. Surprisingly enough, nothing happened. "I don't get what you're freaking out about. It's jus a normal wall."

"Hey I think I figured out how this rumor started!" Tails shouted proudly. "I'll bet a couple of guys were playing pranks on the townspeople, so they started throwing balls out of the alley. And when everyone came to look, they were hiding, making it look like the balls were floating themselves."

"But where could a person...?" Shadow began.

"That makes total sense." Rouge nodded, ignoring the hedgehog's statement. "Looks like we busted another case."

But despite Shadow's attempted arguments, none of the Knights acted as if his view of the story mattered. None of them were around when the wall was attacking, so they had no clue of the whole story. The Keyblade sighed and followed his team out of the alleyway, never noticing the portal of emptiness forming in the background. Once the group of four had returned to the central road of Sunset Hill, Tails uncurled his map of the Seven Wonders, checking off the alleyway.

"The Friend from Beyond the Wall: Complete." Tails said in an adventurous tone. "I think we should check out the 'Cave Moaning' next."

"What's the story on that?" Knuckles asked curiously.

"What does it sound like, idiot." Rouge snapped. "There's a cave in the northern part of Sunset Hill that was originally used for mining until the company financing it went bankrupt. Just before the crew pulled out, one of the workers was killed when a stalactite crushed his skull. They say his spirit still lives in the cave, haunting anyone who intrudes on his resting place."

"How in the world did you know that?" Tails asked quizzically.

"A girl has her secrets." Rouge said, winking to the confused men.

The group of four traveled north of the hillside, stopping at the mouth of a smoothed cave entrance that was chiseled perfectly to support the structure. There were some broken shovel heads, snapped pick-axes, and cracked buckets scattered across the floor, proving the existence of a former mining team. Tails and Shadow crept silently to the left side of the entrance while Knuckles and Rouge scuttled to the other side. All four Knights craned their heads around to gain a better view of the situation, but the cave was pitch-black and the light was unable to penetrate the depths.

"Anyone hear anything?" Shadow asked.

"Nope, I don't hear anything!" Tails said quickly, attempting to flee. "So, let's just move on to..."

"Get back here, you coward." Shadow snarled, pulling his friend back by his collar. "Listen, someone is going to need to go in there and investigate this rumor. Any volunteers?"

"All who vote for Shadow, say aye!" Knuckles screamed frantically.

"Aye!!" Tails and Rouge shouted simultaneously.

"Heart of lions, these guys." Shadow mumbled sarcastically.

Admitting to his outvoted defeat, Shadow bravely stepped into the darkness and disappeared from sight. Despite the lack of light present in the cave, the Keyblade Master had no trouble navigating through the maze of Stalagmites. As he ventured further into the stone tunnel, Shadow passed a fallen stalactite with a pierced skull under its pointed tip – the hedgehog shuddered. The dark Knight ventured further into the cave, stopping only when he reached the ending point where the workers had concluded their work.

"This is the end of the line." Shadow stated. He kneeled close to the ground and scrapped a handful of dirt, allowing it to slip through his fingers. "The whole time I wandered into the cave, I haven't seen any signs of connecting tunnels or salvaging. It's obvious that they weren't looking for gold or oil. So what were they looking for?"

"_Scion..._"

"Who's there?!" Shadow shouted.

The jet-black hedgehog jumped to his feet, but was suddenly blinded by a sharp flash of light. As his vision was slowly adapting to the brief shine, Shadow realized that the light was coming from a stationed lighting system that had not been withdrawn by the excavation. The dark knight removed his arms and was greeted by a familiar and unwelcome guest.

"Damian, what are you doing here?" Shadow asked the golden hound. "Shouldn't you be shining Zeenint's shoes right about now?"

"Scion..." Damian murmured.

"Wait!" Shadow exclaimed, jumping into position. "You just said that name. Does that mean you're..."

The golden Signer refused to answer any further and motioned into his battling stance, taking a quick glance to his left and right sides. Drawn on by his own curiosity, Shadow followed the motion. For the second time in Shadow's life, the dark Knight was surrounded by a group of clones modeled after one of his rivals. Five Damians circled the Keyblade Master, all positioned in the same stance as the original. The group of clones waited approximately four seconds before attempting to capture the jet-black hedgehog in unison. Shadow raised his arm to defend against to Signers striking from either side, but left himself open for the remaining three to kick at his chest. The dark Knight was pushed back into a nearby stalagmite and quickly flipped over the structure as one of the clones threw their fist ahead. The pointed stone was instantly demolished the moment the hound's hand made contact.

"You've got to be kidding me." Shadow groaned, staggering back to the wall. "Damian was never this strong to begin with. Then again, he never had four identical twin brothers before, either."

The five Damian clones flocked around the hedgehog, preventing any means of escape. And the golden hounds pulled back their hands and thrusted them ahead, forcing Shadow to take immediate action. At the last split-second, the jet-black hedgehog jumped to the ceiling and grappled the closest stalactite as the Damian clones smashed their fists into the wall. Cling to the ceiling was possibly the dumbest move Shadow could have chosen. The moment the golden hounds made contact, the cave gave an involuntary shudder and slowly collapsed from above. The pointed rock that Shadow was holding was the first to fall, but the Keyblade Master quickly jumped away from the piece and landed safely on the floor. The tunnel was caving inwards, which only added to the fact that the five Damian clones had surrounded him once more.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Shadow exclaimed fearfully. "We have to get out of here before we all die!"

"_You must return, my liege!_" 'Damian' snarled. "_You must return!_"

Shadow raised his arms over his head as the five Damian clones jumped overhead with the ceiling finally crumbling out of place. And then everything went black. The same feeling of emptiness returned from Shadow's previous battle against the Twilight Thorn – would Kumori save him this time? The hedgehog was hopeful. Perhaps she could finally shed some light on the matters that were surrounding his dreams and the name. Maybe...she would...

"What the hell are you doing?"

The jet-black hedgehog jumped in fright. Shadow was once again in the cave and the electric system was still running, but the cave was still untouched and the Damian clones were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the original Damian was standing overhead, glaring down at the Kingdom Knight that was sleeping on the ground.

"Damian?" Shadow said questionably. "What happened? Why is the cave still standing? Where are the clones?"

"Clones?" Damian repeated tauntingly. "I think you're putting on too much hair gel. It's starting to leak into your brain."

"What are you doing here anyway, mutt?" Shadow growled.

"I was planning to get some practice in until you found my secret training spot." Damian explained. "Zeenint thinks he's so great because he's the fastest and can use magical powers. Armand is definitely the strongest, but not much of a free-thinker. After I'm done training, we'll see who's in charge of the Soleanna Signers."

So Damian was planning a small-scale coup against Zeenint and the Signers. Shadow had to guess that Damian didn't like the way he was treated as unnecessary member of the group. But even with all that training, there was not a chance in the world that Damien would be able to overpower Zeenint. Just as the golden hound left, Knuckles and the other Knight barged into the cave, exchanging glares with Damian as he passed by.

"Are you ok?" Rouge asked concerned.

"I'm...just fine." Shadow lied hesitantly. "I think the moaning everyone heard was Damian practicing his Brawling techniques. I think he's planning to challenge Zeenint for leadership."

"That stupid mutt!" Knuckles laughed outrageously. "It's amazing he even knows how to tie his own shoes!"

"You don't know how to toe your shoes either, Knux." Rouge grinned; Knuckles held his head in shame.

"Well, the chances of Damian actually winning are five-hundred million to one." Tails stated, retrieving his trusted map and marking off the tunnel. "It looks like another mystery has been solved."

Unfortunately, Shadow couldn't quite agree with their opinions. The Keyblade Master was certain that everything that happened was not an illusion. Damian had replicated himself just like Gemini during the Brawlers Tournament and had gained impossible strength beyond his normal potential. Shadow had already come up with an explanation for Damian's transformation, but there was still the question of the cave. How could it collapse and just rebuilt itself. Meanwhile, Damien turned the corner and looked back momentarily at the jet-black hedgehog. Once out of sight, a white light surrounded him and a Dusk slithered its way towards the entrance.

* * *

**A strange new territory reveals hidden mysteries. What other perils await in the remaining four wonders? Does the Order hold deeper control over Soleanna? Will Shadow finally be captured? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	10. An Unnatural Wonder, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Eight: An Unnatural Wonder, Part 2

The scene returns to Sunset Hill shortly after Shadow's confusing and stressful search for the Seven Wonders of Soleanna. The first wonder was solved due to Damien's lack of mathematic skills, but it only got harder from there. The Keyblade Master was eventually attacked by flying balls and a swarm of Damien clones, both of which were unexplained. Tails and the others tried to come up with some other logic for what happened, ignoring the first-hand experience from their Dark Knight. At this point, Shadow was venturing the western end of Sunset Hill, searching for the next unnatural wonder.

"The doppelganger." Shadow said, reading the map given to him. "Witnesses report that a strange counterpart appears at the corner of town, appearing out of thin air. Great, like I need another clone problem. Two is just about enough."

The Keyblade ventured through the streets, waving to the people who greeted him – and ducked whenever Rouge was near. After following the exact details of the map Tails marked, Shadow found himself in the empty lot placed close to the hillside trail. The small square was mostly dirt with a few small bushes growing close to the edges. And at the far-end of the corner, a classical waterfall was running smoothly down its predestined path, soundlessly pouring into the basin below. As the dark Knight ventured for a closer look, he was amazed at how clean the water was – he could see his own reflection.

"Well, what do you know?" Shadow shrugged amusingly. "Looks like there is a logical explanation for this one. I guess I won't have to worry about attacking clones this time."

"_How can you be so sure?_"

Shadow sharply scuttled away from the waterfall, feeling an ominous chill run down the course of his spine. He shot looks left and right, sighting that no one was in the lot other than himself. That's when it hit him. Shadow moved into his defensively position towards the direction of the waterfall, effectively blocking the incoming fist with his forearm. The Keyblade Master looked over his block to gain a better vantage point of his attacker. Shadow wasn't too surprised when he witnessed a perfect replica of himself, grinning insanely. The Keyblade Master lifted his foot and pressed against the clone's chest, shooting him back in the opposite direction.

"Why is it that a simple day in the park can never be simple?" Shadow groaned.

"_Who knows?_" The replica sniggered wickedly. "_Maybe you're just cursed._"

"So, which one sent you this time?" Shadow questioned. "Terro or that woman in black?"

"_Wouldn't you like to know?_" The replica giggled in a crazed manner.

The dark Knight sighed, shaking his head in disappointment and fatigue. That was possibly the dumbest move Shadow could have ever pulled in his entire Brawling career. The moment his eyes drifted away from his opponent, the replica dashed ahead and drilled his fist into the Keyblade Master's face. Shadow felt the intense throbbing when the back of his head hit against the back wall. But the jet-black hedgehog had no time to null the sensation before he was forced to roll sideways in order to dodge the doppelganger's monstrous kick. The hedgehog replica smashed his foot through the sidewall, spreading a web of cracks along the surface. And while his clone busied himself into freeing his foot, Shadow noticed a vibrant red mark on the back of his clone's head – the exact spot where he hit the wall. This intrigued the Keyblade Master.

"Running away, coward?" The replica cackled, ripping his limb from the wall. "Then again, that is your greatest skill. I should know; I'm you."

"You're nothing like me." Shadow said confidently.

"Oh, but we're so much alike that we could be brother." The replica sniggered.

While the replica was momentarily distracted by his outward comment, Shadow dropped close to the ground and swiped his foot behind the clone's leg. The replica barely touched the dirt for half of a second before curling backwards and jumping back to his feet. The Keyblade Master threw his fist ahead, but the doppelganger constricted the originals arm and pulled it back, leaving him open for a direct blow. But before the replica could be given the chance to attack, Shadow used his clone's support to lift himself off the ground and press both feet into the replica's chest. The dark Knight flipped backwards over his doppelganger's back with a firm hold on the replica's wrist, flinging him over his shoulder. But at the last second, the replica caught himself and landed perfectly on his feet and counterattacked by throwing Shadow over his shoulder. The jet-black hedgehog smacked loudly into the cracked wall – the sound of bones cracking echoed in the lot. Shadow kneeled tiredly to the ground, holding his left shoulder, which had been pulled from its socket. And as he looked back, he noticed that the doppelganger's arm was hanging limp at his side – his left arm.

"Wait a minute." Shadow said thoughtfully. "You said we were close, but you weren't too detailed on how close."

"Wow, you don't have much of an attention span." The replica giggled insanely. "I am you and you are I. We're both from the same mind and body. The questioned is: how do you plan to fight yourself?"

"How about like this?" Shadow said seriously. The Keyblade Master closed his eyes as he lifted his arm, jabbing his elbow into his right kneecap. While the dark Knight hissed at the expected pain, he smirked victorious as his clone dropped to the ground, holding the same knee. "You weren't telling the whole story when you said we were the same. If anything happens to me, you suffer the same consequence. The same thing would probably happen if I managed to attack you as well."

"So you know the truth; big deal." The replica growled. "It's not like you're going to kill yourself to stop me."

"Apparently, you know nothing about me." Shadow smirked.

The Keyblade Master looked over his shoulder, noting the weak structures in the cracked wall behind him. Glancing at the horrified doppelganger only momentarily, Shadow jabbed his hand backwards and removed the final support on the wall. The weakened structure slowly collapsed over the dark Knight, blotting over the last remaining lights of the sun Shadow would not see again.

"Shadow, are you ok?"

The jet-black hedgehog gasped suddenly, jumping to his knees as his vision was sharply returned to him. Shadow once again found himself kneeling in the empty lot, which was perfectly preserved from the battle that had taken place here. And to his left, Tails was crouching next to him with signs of concern, but the dark Knight simply brushed it off. Shadow lifted himself to his feet, taking notice that all his injuries had disappeared once again.

"Are you all right?" Tails asked cluelessly. "It looks like you passed out. I guess the heat was finally starting to get to you."

"I guess." Shadow said uncertainly, staring back into the waterfall. "What happened to the other me?"

"Other...you?" Tails repeated confused, turning in the same direction. "Oh, I get it! The waterfall is so clear and pure that it reflects everything in its view. Whenever one looks into it, the waterfall acts like a mirror and reflects the image, making it look like a doppelganger."

"I...suppose so." Shadow said hesitantly.

"Looks like we solved another one of the Seven Wonders." Tails said proudly.

Though the youngest of the Kingdom Knights was willing to accept this explanation, Shadow wasn't as thoughtfully. He knew that the doppelganger had existed and then vanished just like the floating balls and the Damien clones. Someone big was going on in Sunset Hill and the Shadow was determined to figure out what it was and why they were attacking only him. As the duo Knights exited the small lot, neither of them noticed the Shadow doppelganger breaching his head from the waterfall before shortly returning to the depths.

"Anymore wonders left." Shadow asked his comrade exhaustedly. "I'm pretty sure there are still a few bones I haven't broken yet."

"I never pegged you to be a whiner, Shadow." Tails chuckled, unrolling his map. "That last two wonders in Sunset Hill can both be found at the top of the hill. You go check out something called the Animated Bag and I'll go find Rouge and Knuckles. Maybe after we're done, we can go looking for the last wonder."

"Not if whatever's up there eats me first." Shadow comment.

Tails laughed loudly, mistaking the remark as a humorous joke. But knowing Shadow's recent luck, the possibility seemed very likely. While his companion walked back into town, Shadow followed the natural trail through the stone archway, leading to the countryside of Soleanna. The dark Knight treaded lightly upwards on the dirt path, noticing even few residences spending time in the open space. Shadow knew the reason why. The hillside was usually a nice getaway for young couple who wanted to spend time together...and more. As he passed a couple holding hands, Shadow's mind unintentionally drifted to thoughts of the silky-black hedgehog girl that had come to his rescue.

"Ugh, why can't I stop thinking about her?" Shadow groaned inwardly. "I haven't seen her in two days, what makes me think today will be any different?"

In the time that Shadow was preparing for the Brawler's Tournament, Shadow had spent most of his day searching Soleanna, asking questions on Kumori. Even after providing a detailed description on the missing female, none of the town residents seemed to have seen a girl like that in their lifetimes. It was as if she never existed. And while Shadow was distracted by his thoughts, the Keyblade Master unknowingly caught something with his foot a tripped over, falling flat on his face.

"Why is it always the face?" Shadow moaned as he stood.

The dark Knight was brought back to reality and discovered that he had made it to the top of the hillside. The space was fenced in with a perfect view overlooking the countryside and the railroad tracks below. Not much was placed in the enclosed section except a few benches, a couple of trashcans, a large trash bag, and a small-scale replica of the Soleanna Palace. Shadow approached the baggage, tapping it cautiously with his foot.

"So...this is the animated bag?" Shadow said questionably. "Hey, maybe if I'm lucky, this thing won't try to kill me."

But when do you ever expect Shadow to be lucky today? The Keyblade Master looked back at the trail, expecting to see his friends running any moment. But during his wait, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Looking back, Shadow still only found the enlarged trash bag....a few inches from its original spot. The dark Knight glanced momentarily back at the trail, hoping to see the others soon, and approached the baggage silently. Shadow cautiously loomed over the bag and tapped the surface of the piece gently – the bag jumped. Almost immediately, Shadow skipped backwards and prepared himself for combat, watching the bag roll hop randomly across the ground.

"Why do I even bother relaxing?" Shadow sighed.

As the Animated Bag hopped to the left of the fenced space, it hopped over one of the trashcans and skillfully knocked the edge of the lid. The living bag used its body surface to rebounded the lid and shoot it across the space in the direction of Shadow. With unexpected athletic ability, Shadow curved his spine and dodged the metallic plate by a few short centimeters – the lid stabbed into the bench behind him. The Keyblade Master had barely straightened himself, the Animated Bag hopped closer and jumped ahead over the jet-black hedgehog. Shadow effortlessly countered this move by dropping on his back and thrusting his feet into the bag, throwing it overhead. The bag landed with a dull thud and Shadow jumped back to his feet with his fists ready to strike back. Surprisingly enough, the bag only lifted itself partially before dropping back down in defeat – Shadow blinked animatedly.

"Uh...that was...easy." Shadow commented uneasily.

The dark Knight dragged his feet closer to the back and sharply snapped the rope hold the mouth closed. You could only imagine the surprise and relief that washed over shadow when he found Armand the Tiger crawling out of the Animated Bag with a large welt on his head.

"Armand, what are you doing in there?" Shadow questioned.

"What does it look like I'm doing?!" Armand sneered. "The backstabbing Damien knocked me out when I wasn't looking and tired me in this bag. I was trying to get out when something threw me and I landed on my head."

"Yeah...sorry about that." Shadow chuckled sheepishly.

"Well, that explains one thing." Shadow jumped and screamed shrilly as the Kingdom Knights finally made their appearance; Knuckles and Armand sniggered behind their hands. "At least we know where the Animated Bag mystery came from. Damien just tied up Armand and left him here. That's another Wonder solved."

"Don't you think it would have been better to leave him in their?" Rouge smirked playfully. "This town already has enough ugly mutts. I don't think they'll notice one missing."

"Just you wait." Armand growled. "You'll get what's coming to you."

The Kingdom Knights merely brushed off the comment, congratulating Shadow humiliating Armand once again. But in their praise, none of the Knights noticed the Signer tiger transforming into a Dusk and slithering from sight. After many long hours of searching the town, Shadow and his friends finally decided to stop at the bench under the palace replica, relaxing from their ordeals. While Knuckles, Tails, and Rouge didn't really think much of the Wonders, it had given Shadow much to think about. Most of Seven Wonder involved some outside force that couldn't effectively be traced, despite Tails' best attempts to find a logical explanation for them. And then there was Damien – he knew the second name: Scion.

"That makes five wonders solved." Tails said, checking off the map. "Only two left to find."

"You know, that last few wonders weren't exactly wonderful." Shadow commented frustrated. "In the few hours that I have been here, I had stone-solid balls thrown in my face, got ambushed by an army of Damiens, was nearly killed by my own reflection, and almost decapitated by a walking trash bag. You got anything that won't kill me?"

"Don't worry; you won't have to worry about this next one." Tails stated confidently. "Wonder #6: The Ghost Train."

"What's the story on this one?" Knuckles asked.

"Everyone knows about the Ghost Train." Rouge sighed exasperatedly; Knuckles hung his head in shame. "There are rumors flying around that a mysterious blue train can be seen from the hillside, but it suddenly disappears before it can make it to the train station. Legend has it that a sorcerer uses the train to travel to his hidden castle at the edge of the world."

"Like you actually believe that." Knuckles scoffed.

"After the kind of day, I've been through; I'm willing to believe anything." Shadow sighed, leaning back into the bench. "I'm just glad that for once I don't have to do anything life threatening."

And so the Kingdom Knights spent their time waiting besides the fence, waiting for the appearance of the Ghost Train. The crew waited close to an hour before sheer boredom began to break their concentration – Knuckles was close to falling asleep. Rouge was smart enough to bring some reading material to pass the time and Tails was throwing rocks off the edge of the hillside. Shadow's focus was the only one that had not been turned away. Of all of them, he was the most curious about the Ghost Train – maybe it held some answers to the mysteries that plagued him.

"We've got to make it to the beach next year." Rouge said suddenly. "That means we'll have to get jobs the second the next summer vacation starts."

"Hopefully they'll be much better than the ones two days ago." Knuckles groaned, falling on his back. "I still have soars from lifting that crate."

"Good afternoon, slackers." The Knight turned and jumped to their feet as the leader of the Soleanna Signer, Zeenint, walked up the trail. "You guys are just as lazy out here as you are in town. By the way, what are you guys doing out here?"

"What do you care?" Knuckles replied snidely.

"I don't." Zeenint shrugged amusingly. "Tell me anyway."

"We're waiting for the Ghost Train." Tails answered nervously.

"Waiting for the Ghost Train." Zeenint repeated mockingly; Shadow growled angrily and silenced him. "Why does looking at you always piss me off?"

"I dunno." Shadow commented sarcastically. "Maybe its destiny?"

"Destiny." Zeenint laughed. "In that case, let's be friends." He turned his back rudely to the Kingdom Knights. "I really don't feel like cooperating with destiny."

"When have you ever cooperated with anything?" Knuckles said.

The emerald-green hedgehog shook his head with amusement, leaving the group with their thoughts. For the first time since he could remember, Shadow couldn't think of a reason to fight Zeenint. It was strange. Shadow and Zeenint were like two sides of the same coin, each of them trying to dominate the other. Perhaps Zeenint saw this, too.

"Hey, look!" Rouge screamed.

The Kingdom Knights quickly followed Rouge's direction and leaned against the fence. Off in the distance, a blue train with a silver dragon pattern glided across the rails. All four Knights were shocked beyond imagination – there were no passengers, driver, absolutely no one was aboard the train. And judging by the direction it was facing, the train was going to stop at one particular place.

"It's headed to the station!" Shadow exclaimed. "We have to hurry before it leaves!"

The group of four wasted no time dashing back to the direction of the train station, hoping to catch up with the mysterious transportation. They remained completely oblivious to the outside world, including the pedestrian and hotdog vendors they ran over along the way. After what seemed like an eternity to Shadow, the Kingdom Knights stopped at the top of the stairways and saw it. The blue body reflected the lights of the sun, covering the surrounding area in a magnificent array of blue light. The silver dragon sparkled like a hundred stars covering the night sky. Shadow knew this was the answer he was looking for. The dark Knight tried to board the train, but he was held back when Knuckles sharply grabbed his wrist.

"What are you doing?!" Shadow snapped.

"Stopping you from becoming railroad pizza!" Knuckles shouted.

The Keyblade Master pried his arm away and turned back to the magnificent train, only to discover that it had simply vanished into the air. Like everything else that had occurred today, the unnatural wonder had disappeared. And at that same moment, a second train arrived at the station.

* * *

The scene returns to the train station in Soleanna, where the Kingdom Knights were dismally making their way back home. Tails and the others were grievously disappointed about the lack of excitement from the Seven Wonders, ignoring Shadow's attempts to explain his experiences. But Shadow quickly gave up the attempts as his heart was not into it – he wanted so desperately to board the Ghost Train and possibly find out why the silver creatures were after him.

"Let just get back and work on that damn paper." Knuckles said grumpy. "The rumors were bogus – the end."

"We can still make it sound good if we write about the work we did." Rouge said.

"You mean the work that I did." Knuckles stated gruffly.

"W-wait a minute." Shadow stammered confused. "Wasn't there one more left – the seventh wonder?"

"Who cares about that?" Knuckles sighed irritably. "It's probably just another hoax."

"I want to know!" Shadow demanded.

"All right, we'll tell you." Tails answered nervously. "It's at the ancient ruins on the edge of town. You know, the place where you chased that weird guy in the jumpsuit."

"Thanks, Tails." Shadow nodded appreciatively. "I'm going to find out what's going on around here."

Pushing past his friends, the dark Knight made a mad dash down the street in the direction of the outskirt forest. That was the place where he chased the silver creature and it was the place where he was going to get to the bottom of this mystery. Shadow didn't stop to say 'hi' or bother avoiding the pedestrians – he didn't even apologize for tripping Elise. All that mattered was the ancient ruins. After a brief spell of running, the jet-black hedgehog finally skidded to a halt at the gate of the ancient ruins, panting heavily from the effort. Straightening himself properly, Shadow scanned the area of the collapsed building – what secrets was it hiding?"

"You know something..." Shadow screamed once again as Tails appeared behind him. "We were going to check the ruins out tomorrow. It is the most suspicious place, after all. Even the Soleanna Signers are going to be helping out in the search."

"What?" Shadow questioned surprisingly. "How did you manage to convince Zeenint to help out?"

"They had an argument at first, but Knuckles managed to convince him to help." Tails explained.

"Heh! Didn't think he had it in him." Shadow smirked jokingly "So, what exactly are we looking for here?"

"Well, they say there's a girl who appears at the second story window." Tails explained dramatically. "Even though no one has lived here for years. Some say she is the spirit of the former resident."

Shadow wasn't at all concerned on the details, but one thing was clear: everything points back to the ruins. Scanning across the secondary structure, Shadow's focus stopped at a single room with white curtains still placed in the windowsill. And without knowing how, Shadow's mind was suddenly ripped into another view.

* * *

When Shadow regained his sense of sight, he was partially blinded by the intense light of the area. Once his eyes adjusted, he realize that it wasn't light at all, but a room made from pure white material. Everything from the floor to the flowers was crafted from the same material, leaving the room perfectly neat and tidy. The only thing that stood out was the deck of cards resting on the table. The Keyblade Master reached over and swiped the first card of the deck, revealing the portrait of Amy looking out to the sea.

"Scion..."

"Kumori!?" Shadow exclaimed suddenly. He searched the room, but the angelic hedgehog was nowhere to be seen. That was until he looked at the next cad, showing Shadow and Kumori standing on each side of Terro. The only difference is that Shadow was wearing a Black Cloak like the man. "This...me. You and Terro are there, too."

"Terro is our closest friend." Kumori echoed. "He is the one that links us, Scion."

"There's that name again." Shadow murmured. "What does it mean?"

"Don't you want to know the truth about who you really are?" Kumori asked hopefully.

"No one knows me better than me." Shadow commented. "But, I would like to know more about what's happening to me."

The Keyblade Master set aside the card and took hold of the third. It revealed a portrait of the entire Sonic Team, battling the shadows with their cobalt leader wielding his legendary weapon.

"You know them, don't you?" Kumori questioned.

"Sonic, Silver, Storm, Angel, and Marine." Shadow answered instantaneously. "They're from my dreams."

"About a year ago...something happened." Kumori explained hesitantly. "I was captured and forced to take apart the Chain of Memories in Sonic's heart. After Duskmon was defeated, I was able to recollect all of Sonic's memories and put them back into place. But there were some...complications."

"Complications?" Shadow repeated.

When I broke the Chain of Memories in Sonic's heart, I had unintentionally reached farther than I should have." Kumori answered sadly. "Instead of ripping apart the memories in Sonic's heart, I also interfered with the memories of the one closest to Sonic's heart."

"Amy." Shadow answered unknowingly. "But...what does that have to do with Sonic? What about my dreams?"

"There was a moment in time when Sonic and Amy's hearts were joined together." Kumori explained. "And because of that, they had simultaneous memories of Sonic's battles against the Heartless. And even after Amy was freed, the bond between them was too strong to be severed permanently. Sonic's memories are Amy's memories, just as hers are his. And you have been seeing these memories through your dreams."

"So this dreams...these memories..." Shadow said thoughtfully.

"They originally belonged to Amy." Kumori responded. "I didn't realize this until after I had completed Sonic's the Chain of Memories four months after Duskmon was defeated. It took a long time to track them and they eventually found their way into you, Scion. And unless Amy's memories are properly aligned with Sonic's he can never wake up. You're their only hope, Scion."

"Kumori..." Shadow muttered thoughtfully. His eyes drifted across the table as Kumori suddenly appeared in the seat opposite of him. "Kumori...just who are you?"

"I'm a witch with the power over memories." Kumori answered depressingly. "And for this reason, I have been seen only as a tool for Order XIII and the Seekers. I don't know why I have this power, only that it can never be used for the right purposes. I though this was my fate. But then, I found hope. The only one that ever accepted me – the only one that treated me like a person – was Terro. And...He thought you would accept me, too."

"Terro's a smart guy." Shadow chuckled; he was happy to hear Kumori laugh with him. "It's funny. Suddenly...I feel like I don't know myself at all. I guess I would like to know. What do you know about me that I don't?"

"You..." Kumori stammered hesitantly. "You were never supposed to exist."

"How can you say that?" Shadow asked hurtfully. "Even if that were true?"

"I'm sorry." Kumori apologized. "I guess some things...really are better left unsaid.

* * *

"Shadow....Shadow, wake up!"

The jet-black hedgehog returned to his original body, shaken free from his trance by the two-tailed kitsune. There was no denying that everything that had occurred was real. Everything he had just learned was given to him by the one person he knew he could trust in this town. Then that meant...Amy's memories were still trapped inside him...and someone wanted them badly.

"Shadow, did you see the girl?" Tails asked hopefully.

"Nah, it's just curtains flapping in the wind." Shadow lied forcefully; he didn't want anyone to know about Kumori. "There must be some draft that's making them move. That's why people confuse it for a girl."

"Aw, I was really hoping that we would actually find something." Tails moaned disappointedly. "Well, let's head back to the Usual Spot. I'm sure Knuckles is waiting to say he was right. We'll never hear the end of it."

The Keyblade Master nodded, following his two-tailed friend out of the clearing. But before leaving entirely, he caught sight of Kumori leaning against the window, almost pleading for the hedgehog not to leave. Shadow wanted to find a way back to her, but then his friends would most likely worry over his safety and possibly upset whoever else is inside the ruins. With a resolve to come back immediately the next day, Shadow departed into the shade of the trees.

* * *

The scene alters within the ancient ruins, positioned in a small room on the eastern side. Like much of the antique structure, most of the furniture was ripped apart, the bricks creaked ominously, and the only lighting was provided by a candle on the floor. Within this depressing threshold, ZoN remained seated silently within one of the two remaining chairs. Her attention was drawn when the door creaked open loudly and slammed behind the crouching character entering.

"How is our guest doing today?" ZoN asked nonchalantly.

"He is doing remarkably well." The female member responded. "Then again, he is the Seeker of Darkness. Even all the damage you caused was not enough to full defeat him."

"Have you gathered any information from him?" ZoN questioned seriously.

"His tongue has been silence for quite some time now." The female proclaimed. "Whatever he did with Espio, he obviously does not want us finding out. Deathwing is growing very curious as to the whereabouts of his partner." She took a seat opposite of the Seeker leader. "Speaking of curiosity, I would like to know why you showed him Nyrox's train."

"Because he missed the trip to the beach." ZoN answered simply.

"That was almost kind of you." The female stated.

"Now...what about you?" ZoN questioned. "Are the holes in your memories beginning to clear?"

"Yes...the haze is clearing." The female nodded lightly.

"The same thing is happening to everyone connected with Sonic and Amy." ZoN said. "Very soon, to them, the Keyblade Master will be like a good friend who has gone away for a year."

"I have waited long enough for this and I won't wait any longer." The female said impatiently. "I have been eternally grateful to you for freeing me from my prison and I have served the Seekers justly. And now I want to know...what exactly are you after?"

"Revenge." ZoN hissed.

"Revenge?" The female repeated; her claws scratched the arms of the chair.

"Now, for the finishing touches." ZoN proclaimed sternly. "Once the process is complete, we must dispose of Kumori immediately." The female member stiffened. "I know Terro hold great value over her life, but he has become too out of control recently. That is why the moment Kumori is destroyed, you must eliminate Terro to tie up any remaining loose ends."

"But why?" The female murmured softly.

"Scion isn't the only one who was never meant to exist." ZoN answered coldly. "Take care of it, Lily."

* * *

_~Restoration at 97%~_

The ground of the world was made from a sea of darkness and fractured pieces of land scattered throughout the world. On the other side of the dark sea, a large sphere of purple energy could be seen between a small series of pillars. The heroes were weary of walking across the sea, but Marine was too rambunctious for her own good. She jumped into the dark sea, only to find that it was solid as earth.

"Ow." Marine winced. "Is this it, mates? Is that all that's left from the worlds destroyed by the Heartless?"

"It would appear so." Silver said. "I defiantly can feel an endless streak of darkness. This is defiantly a Heartless world."

"Those worlds will be restored once we be Mephiles, right?" Sonic asked; Silver nodded. "But if we do beat him and all the worlds become restored and disconnect, what will happen to this place? What's going to happen to us?"

~287193~

Iblis roared furious at the intruders

~386951~

"All living things are born from the darkness and also die of it." Mephiles proclaimed. "The heart is no different. You see, darkness is the hearts purest and most potent form. Darkness is the source of all things."

"I know that the heart is weak and it may even give in." Sonic said seriously. "But I've learned that deep in our hearts, there is a light that will never go out."

~947293~

Sonic could easily see the fear in Mephiles' eyes and smirked. Sonic held out his arms and allowed the Chaos Emerald to become a part of him. In a blinding flash of light, Sonic's quills pointed upwards and his fur was turned a golden shade. With this new power, Sonic was able to wield the Oathkeeper and Oblivion at the same time. Mephiles feared the light above all and slowly tried to retreat, but that proved to be his downfall. Sonic vanished and suddenly appeared in front of Mephiles. Mephiles could only watch in horror as Sonic struck across his chest with both Keyblades. The attack not only cut across Mephiles, but also sliced the remains of Solaris to pieces. With no power able to sustain it, Solaris exploded with mighty force and took Mephiles with it.

~608827~

"Master Emerald!" Mephiles commanded, waving to the mighty gem. "I command you to open the door and fill me with the power of darkness!"

"You're wrong, Mephiles." Sonic said sternly, attracting the demon's attention. "I've learned many things over my travels. But I know now...the true Kingdom Hearts...is Light!"

With his final words said, Mephiles allowed himself to be consumed by the light. When the light died down, only the Master Emerald remained. The Chaos Emerald began reacting and departed from Sonic's presence to surround the Master Emerald. The smaller emeralds circled the larger emerald before the all shot into the sky and vanished without a trace.

~883051~

"Come on, Sonic!" Jet called. "Time to close this door for good!"

"Take care of her, Sonic." Espio requested

~139124~

"Amy, remember what you said before?" Sonic Questioned. "Wherever you go, I'll always be with you." The piece of land began to pull away, separating the hero and princess. "I'll come back to you. I promise."

"I know you will!" Amy responded.

And with that, Sonic and Amy let go, losing the warmth of the others touch. Sonic wanted nothing more than to remain with Amy, but he had a duty given to him. It was his gift and curse.

~938171~

As for Sonic and his friends, the group of five traveled down a long winding road that led to the middle of an everlasting field. They wondered why they hadn't returned to their homes where they belong, but somehow knew deep down that they were still needed. As long as the Keyblade remained with its master, the journey would never end. They traveled on for miles in silence, trying to plan what would happen next.

"Anyone care to tell me how we got here in the first place?" Angel asked.

"I don't really know, nor do I care." Silver said grudgedly, turning to Sonic. "So now what, O' brilliant one."

"I thought that was obviously." Sonic grinned. "We got to find Espio and King Jet."

"That's right." Marine nodded. "We got to find that light door thingy."

"But where are we supposed to find the Door to the Light?" Storm asked. "It's not like it's gonna walk in front of us."

~472935~

Sonic shot around toward the path behind him, but found nothing.

"What the?" Sonic questioned.

"I fear that you are facing the wrong way." The voice stated.

The hedgehog shot back around at the voice to find a new figure watching over him. He wore a long black coat, black boots, and a silver chain close to the hood. Instead of hands, the man had two large black skulls attached to his arms. The man's hood was removed and revealed his face to the Keyblade Master. His face was covered in a black helmet with three red jewels stamped in the center. He had blond hair creeping from the back and piercing red eyes between the holes. That was a face Sonic could not easily forget.

~846284~

Back with ou ~348273~ awakened them and told them of Duskmon's ~748204~ nic, they thought it was a bit sketchy, but knew it was their only lead. Af ~640241~ ked down the path, the group found themsel ~ 932993 ~act castle on the girl's card. Storm looked over the thin path that ~2862037402949280373493938329~

* * *

_~Restoration complete~_

* * *

A dark beach existed between the realms of light and darkness, untouched by either force. The eternal moon was reflected off the cool surface of the water without a trace of wind controlling its directions. Many fragmented rocks coated the scenery, and the Superior took his place on the one closest to the water. He appeared to be waiting for something, but his waited was soon to be ended. A portal of darkness surfaced a few yards away and expelled a man where the Black Cloak. He walked across the dark sand, alerting the Superior of his appearance.

"You have arrived." The Superior acknowledged; the figure moved closer. "I've been to see him. He look's a lot like you."

"Who are you?" Scion asked.

"I'm all that's left." The Superior stated. "Or maybe, I'm all there ever was."

"I meant you name." Scion said impatiently.

"My name is of no importance." The Superior claimed. "But what about you? Do you remember you true name?"

"My true name...is..." Scion responded hesitantly.

"You have been with us for six days now." The Superior said, lowering his hood. "The time has come."

The newest member of the Order stiffened almost immediately as the leader of the group approached him. He had heard many rumors from the Dusks of the Superior's ferocity and disapproval of failure – it intimidated him. But instead, the Superior showed no dislike. In fact, the leader of the Order rested his hand on the hedgehog's shoulder in a friendly manner, showing favor and respect. And as he passed by, one name escaped his lip that still haunt the hedgehog to this day.

"**Sonic"**

* * *

**The final chapter of Shadow's story is drawing to a close. How did Shadow come to obtain Amy's memories in the first place? Will the Seekers truly kill their own members? And will the secret of Scion finally come to light? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	11. Over, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Nine: Over, Part 1

Shadow awoke from his slumber as usual, but with a different sense of himself this time. Now that he knew what was causing these strange dreams, it was only a matter of time until they were rightfully returned to their true owner. According to Kumori, Amy's memories were nearly restored to their proper place. But then...what would happen to him after everything was done? Would he be allowed to see Kumori again? Or would Terro finally capture him and send him away? All that Shadow knew was that today was going to be different.

* * *

Later that day, Shadow was out and about, making his way towards the Usual Spot. As he passed through Market Street, the Keyblade Master greeted his friends in their shops as he normally did whenever he walked by. But much to his surprise, no one seemed to respond to the jet-black hedgehog...or even notice him. This was unusual. After turning the corner, Shadow walked into the warehouse of the Usual Spot, where he found Knuckles, Rouge, and Tails huddled at the back wall, deep in conversation.

"Since when did you guys start having secret meetings without me?" Shadow said jokingly. But when the trio paid no attention to his words or showed a hint of surprise, he was worried. "Guys...are you o..."

At that moment, Shadow placed his hand on the echidna's shoulders...and completely passed through him. Shadow staggered back in shock. The Kingdom Knights seemed to nod in an unheard agreement and turned around, facing their long-time friend. But just when Shadow had hoped that everything was just a dream, the Knight trio sprinted past him without notice. Like a ghost of his former self, Shadow remained completely invisible to the world around him – he couldn't even touch them. His fears were starting to get the best of him and what he found next did nothing to calm his nerves. As he walked closer to the moth-eaten couch, he found the picture the Kingdom Knights and Elise had taken in front of the old ruins. Only this time, Shadow was nowhere to be seen – he was completely eased from existence.

"What's going on around here?" Shadow questioned seriously as he walked out of the warehouse. "No one can hear me, no one can see. How is any of this even possible?"

"Anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it."

Shadow turned on his heels – he knew who that voice belonged to. Two Dusks emerged from the ground on either side of the street, blocking every available path, partnered with an enigmatic new creature. The unknown beast presented the same structure as the Dusks, but it was a foot taller, a row of serrated teeth, and a number of zippers along the body. The Keyblade Master was cornered by three silver creatures, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment. A portal of darkness emerged from the ground behind the unknown creatures, depositing one of Shadow more recognized opponents.

"Terro!" Shadow exclaimed.

"Really bad, business, Scion." Terro said, shaking his head. "I've been given these nasty orders to kill you...if you refuse to come back with me. Now, you can make the right choice or the stupid choice."

"We're...friends, right?" Shadow questioned, hoping to stall. "The three of us – you, me, and Kumori."

"Sure, but I'm not getting turned into a Dusk for..." Terro mumbled until realization hit him. "Wait a sec! You remember now?!"

"Yeah..." Shadow said hesitantly.

"Great!" Terro shouted cheerfully. "But...I have to make sure you're not just pulling the wool over my eyes. Uh...what's our boss's name?" The Deceptive Rouge waited several long second before he realized that Shadow didn't know the answer. "Ah, we were so close. Looks like I've got no choice."

No. VIII shook his head in defeat and snapped his fingers, commanding the silver sentries to strike ahead. The two Dusks lowered their heads and snapped across the street while the new creature and its master watched from afar. Knowing that his tactics had failed, Shadow instantly summoned the Keyblade to his hand the moment the Dusks approached him. Having experience battling these creatures before, Shadow effortlessly took out one Dusk by cleaving it in two and kicked the other to the wall. And before the second beast could react to the situation, Shadow turned on his heels and stabbed the Dusk through its chest, sending the creature to oblivion. Shadow was confident in his abilities, but he still had Terro to deal with and the jet-black hedgehog still remained uncertain to the new creature's strength. The Keyblade Master looked back and glared at the Deceptive Rogue, but took notice that the third beast was missing.

"Where did he...?" Shadow questioned.

"I'd look up if I were you?" Terro smirked as he pointed.

Though common sense told him not to look, Shadow followed his directions, only to receive a sharp snap to his forehead. The new creature was much faster than the others and swiped a kick to the jet-black hedgehog without notice. Shadow was thrown back into a pile of trash bag – he tried not to pass out to the stench of spoiled milk, moldy bread, and rotten eggs. The dark Knight shook his head and returned his sights to the battle at the moment the enigmatic creature landed and snapped its leg forward. Relying on his instincts, Shadow stabbed his Keyblade into the wall behind him and pulled himself upwards, narrowly missing the strike. After momentarily pressing his feet into the wall, Shadow removed his chosen weapon and kicked off the surface of the structure. Fear was evident in the new creature's expressionless façade and stabbed its clawed hands in a rapid storm of thrusts. But the Keyblade Master wielded his weapon in front as a shield and blocked every strike, allowing him to move in close to the silver beast. Once they were within inches of each other, Shadow landed below the monster's gaze and turned the Keyblade in his hand, swiping across the creature's chest. With the severed monster evaporated from existence, Shadow was left to face his forgotten friend.

"Well, I guess that's what happens when you leave a Lesser to do an Order's job." Terro shrugged.

"We don't have to do this, Terro." Shadow stated.

"Actually...we do." Terro glared.

It was evident that the Deceptive Rouge had only one thought in his mind – the mission. Shadow gripped the Keyblade firmly in his hand as Terro slowly crouched lower to the ground, ready to pounce. But when Shadow least expected it, the crimson bat thrusted across the air at speeds that the jet-black hedgehog would not have expected. The Keyblade Master was thrown off-guard and left defenseless – he was a sitting duck. Terro stabbed his right claw directly for Shadow's eye and...stopped in midair? Shadow had a hard time believing it, but the Deceptive Rouge was frozen in time with his pointed nails only a meter centimeter away from his socket. The Keyblade cautiously stepped away from the unmoving fighter, wondering if Kumori was once again coming to his aid.

"Shadow, to the ruins!" ZoN echoed. "The time has come! Sonic must be awakened!"

"Just who are you?!" Shadow screamed frustrated; no response. "Hey, are you listening?!"

Shadow growled irritably – why was everyone keeping secrets from him? But at this point, he didn't really think now was the proper time to be asking questions. He didn't know how long Terro would remain frozen and swiftly turned around, making a mad dash for the edge of town. And at the moment Shadow was out of sight, Terro dropped and kneeled with an enraged expression present. ZoN had interfered once again.

"Looks like I'm left with no choice." Terro said, clenching his fists. "The Scion I knew is dead."

* * *

Meanwhile, the scene alternates to the gates of the ancient ruins several minutes following Shadow encounter with the Order. With strength, speed, stealth, and a whole lot of luck, the Keyblade Master had managed to plow through the army of silver monsters roaming around the streets of Soleanna. And while he decimated the hordes of Dusks, Shadow began to realize that the town he had come to know as his home was completely abandoned – not even fly could be found. It was as if the entire population had been wiped out in a single blow. Hopefully, his questions would be answered soon. Shadow ran towards the guarded gates of the ruins, only to find that the giant lock still remained to block off his path. And to add more problems, a group of Dusks emerged from the ground and surrounded their target.

"You've got to be kidding me." Shadow growled, summoning the Keyblade. "You can't just call me and then lock me out..."

* * *

_~Flashback~_

Sonic withdrew his Keyblade and took aim, releasing a solid of light from its teeth.

_~End Flashback~_

* * *

Shadow had no idea where the idea came from, but it was an idea nonetheless. As the Dusks approached Shadow like a lion to its prey, the Keyblade Master turned and aimed his Keyblade to the lock, hoping for a miracle. His miracle came in the form of a solid beam of light a struck the keyhole of the lock, releasing its hold over the gateway. The wrought-iron doorway creaked open and Shadow dashed for the entrance, but the Dusks weren't prepared to surrender their target. The silver soldiers attempt to capture their former master when a portal of darkness expelled from the ground. In short time, the dark corridor eroded and deposited a creature more vile and elusive than themselves: Mephiles.

"So you're looking for the Keyblade Master, are you?" Mephiles chuckled malevolently. "This should be fun."

* * *

The scene alternates to the inside of the ancient ruins, which was properly named in Shadow's opinion. The entire palace was littered with fallen debris and entangled by vines that spread from the gardens. Many of the tiles were shattered and replaced by sprouting plants, cobwebs were a common feature, and the crystal chandelier had fallen from its place on the ceiling. But there were some indications that others have recently taken residence in the ancient domain. The stairways were properly dusted, some of the statues were recently been polished, and a glass case containing a miniature version of Soleanna was placed in the center of the room, untouched.

"Ok, I'm here." Shadow said, scuttling around the fallen chandelier. "Now where am I supposed to go?"

"Scion..."

"Kumori?!" Shadow exclaimed hopefully. "Kumori, where are you?!"

"Scion, up here." Kumori called from the second floor. "Please, you must hurry."

"Just hang on, I'm coming!" Shadow announced.

Without a second to waste, Shadow jumped over the railing and proceeded up the stairway to the second floor. Once reaching the landing, he quickly took a sharp left down the hallway – that's where he met Kumori last time. The dark Knight stopped quietly outside the only door in the corridor, pressing his ears closer to the surface. He heard nothing. Shadow became worried by the silence and thrusted his foot into the door, throwing the structure off its hinges and against the opposite wall. The Keyblade Master cautiously stepped over the threshold with his Keyblade in hand, awaiting any deception that might appear at any moment. But there was no one, only himself. Shadow temporarily lowered his weapon and approached the white table, rediscovering the stack of cards like before. This time, the first card depicted himself wearing a black coat walking down a street with Terro in the background. The portrait stirred something in Shadow's mind.

* * *

_~Flashback~_

After narrowly escaping the Venomous Serpent, Scion had departed from the castle and stalked through the Dark City. This was his first time traveling through the desolate skyscrapers and it was just as he had imagined it – dreary and empty. But there was no turning back now – he needed to find his answers with or without the Order. As he walked by, Scion showed no signs of recognition to the Deceptive Rouge leaning against the wall.

"You're mind's made up?" Terro asked displeasingly.

"Why did the Keyblade choose me?" Scion said questionably. "I have to know."

"You can't turn your back on the Order!" Terro yelled outrageously.

~_End Flashback~_

* * *

Once returning to his original thoughts, Shadow soon discovered he wasn't the only presence in the room. Just as before, Kumori appeared on the opposite end of the table with the same expression of seriousness and curiosity.

"Order XIII..." Shadow murmured softly. "They're the evil group, right?"

"Evil or good, I don't know." Kumori responded soothingly. "They're a group of incomplete people who wish to be whole. To that end, they're desperately searching for something."

"What?" Shadow asked.

"Kingdom Hearts." Kumori answered instantly; Shadow chuckled lowly. "Funny?"

"It's just..." Shadow smiled, shaking his head lightly. "I think...I've been running away from the question I really want to ask: What's going to happen to me after all this? Just tell me that. Nothing else really matters at this point."

"You are..." Kumori began.

And before the memory witch could proceed with her discussion, a crystallized light enveloped her, erasing the female hedgehog from the realm of existence. Shadow was worried for a short moment until he realized that Kumori was being erased in a series of numbers like a computer program. She was never there to begin with. And at that precise moment, the creator of all the catastrophe emerged from her secret hiding place and approached her unsuspecting puppet.

"There is no knowledge that has the power to change your fate." ZoN stated coldly.

"Even if it doesn't, I want to know!" Shadow growled furiously. "I have the right to know!"

"A Nobody doesn't have the right to know." ZoN responded coolly. "Nor does it even have the right to be."

"But what _is _a Nobody?!" Shadow roared.

However, the matter was quickly avoided by the appearance of another dark portal. This time, it deposited the female member of the group and a creature that Shadow had never seen before in his life. A skeletal-reptile horse with wings and scars that were apparent from it numerous battles – it was a real nightmare. Deathwing hissed hiss at the reproached looks he was receiving from Shadow while the two members conversed.

"ZoN, we don't have any time left!" Lily shouted desperately. "Mephiles has escaped and allowed the Nobodies to breach the perimeters! We have to escape before they get too close!"

"Then we must move our operations to Hollow Bastion." ZoN said calmly. "Our agents should have prepared a safe place to coordinate our plans by now. Once we retrieve..."

However, the leader of the Seekers was sharply interrupted by the appearance of a second dark corridor, one more lasting than the others used by Lily. Kumori dashed into the room, panting heavily, and jumped over the table to reach Shadow. Lily moved to recapture the escaper, but Shadow summoned his Keyblade to keep her at bay – she hissed evilly at the weapon of light. Kumori sharply took hold of Shadow shoulders, forcing him to look directly at her.

"Scion, Nobodies like us are only half a person." Kumori explained. "You won't disappear – you'll be whole!"

"I'll...disappear...?" Shadow questioned slowly.

"There will be no further outburst!"

With skill and speed that Shadow couldn't hope to match, ZoN appeared directly behind the dark duo and kicked the Keyblade Master to the wall. The Keyblade Master cracked the wall on impact as the enigmatic woman recaptured Kumori within her grasp, jumping back to the other end of the room. Growling angrily, Shadow jumped back to his feet and attempted a counterstrike to retrieve Kumori. Unfortunately, Deathwing jumped between them and scared the dark Knight with his appearance, hissing malevolently.

"Scion! We'll meet again!" Kumori shouted, struggling to break free. "And then we can talk about everything! I may not know it's you, and you may not know it's me! But we will meet again, I promise!"

"Kumori!" Shadow cried.

No longer caring for the deathly lizard blocking his path, Shadow jumped off the thestral's spine and jumped to save the memory witch. But by that time, it was already too late. ZoN had dragged Kumori back into the darkness and the dark corridor had faded away. Shadow had landed hard on the ground, pounding his fist into the floor due to his own failure. Lily and Deathwing watched the sight with pity apparent. While the unknown female created a shadow portal for the mighty thestral to leave, she briefly walked over and placed a card and a yellow crayon in front of the depressed hedgehog. Shadow watched her cautiously.

"Go to the library in the eastern wing of the palace." Lily explained as she stopped in front of the portal. "You will find a table in there with markings. Use that diagram to complete the symbols and it will take you to ZoN's underground laboratory. I think you'll find your answers there."

"Why are you helping me?" Shadow questioned suspiciously, standing to his feet. "Aren't you working with them?"

"I do not share the same views as ZoN." Lily answered quietly. "And...I also know what it means to lose everything."

Shadow tilted his head in confusion, watching the last of the Seekers disappear into the darkness. He was alone now – just him and an army of Nobodies wandering around the palace. Why is nothing ever simple?

It took everything within Shadow's power and more to sneak past the Dusks swarming across the ancient ruins. Upon exiting the white room, Shadow found the entire corridor blocked off by the silver battalion lead by one of Terro's chosen servants. But with a little creativity and luck, Shadow managed to fashion a set of table legs into pointed stakes, which he used to stab and climb along the ceiling. After navigating his way through the labyrinth, the Keyblade Master had made his way into the library undetected. Just as he was instructed, he found a sole table standing in the middle of the room, which surprisingly lacked any books to properly name it a library. As he approached the furbished furniture, he found a yellow diagram on the surface exactly the same as the one on the card given by Lily, albeit missing a few pieces.

"Look's like this is the place." Shadow murmured. He took the crayon and the card, following the exact directions given. "If that woman is leading me on a wild goose chase, I'm gonna kill her."

Due to Shadow's extraordinary lack of artist skill, he had to draw and erase the same symbol twenty-one times before he got it right. This is the reason he always failed art class. But as he finished making the seal, he failed to notice the disappearing floor beneath his feet. He did start to notice when he fell and landed directly on top of his skull.

"Ugh! A little warning would have been nice!" Shadow snapped.

As he took a second look around the room, he began the sudden change in his environment. The dusty walls and broken-tiled floors were replaced by surfaces with electrical circuits and metallic placements. The place was obviously created in a hurry judging from the overlapping sheet metal and the pile of broken support beams. And next to the pile of beams, a single doorway was opened into a another room hidden below the ancient ruins. The Keyblade Master cautiously stepped through the threshold, suddenly feeling insecure about everything he once knew about his home town. ZoN's secret chamber held her specially crafted computer with a stream of data floating across the walls. And on the right side of the room, a small pad was placed, but it's purpose remained a mystery to Shadow. As he took a closer look at the monitors, he discovered a bio-signature of an unseen specimen that included heart rate, body temperature, and mental activity. ZoN had been busy.

"What is this place?" Shadow murmured.

"Restoration complete." The computer blared; Shadow jumped in shock. "Memory restoration of subject Sonic has reached final processing. Awaiting commands for final input."

"Final input?" Shadow repeated confused.

"Subject Scion: location unconfirmed." The computer continued. "Subject Scion missing from simulated Soleanna. Data replications of Soleanna interrupted. Data flow halted."

"Data replications?" Shadow gaped. "Then...this whole town...and everyone in it – they're all fake! None of this is real! But...what am I doing here?! Someone answer me?!"

The stress of the discovery weight down upon Shadow mind, unlocking the secrets that had been blocked from his memory.

* * *

_~Flashback~_

The scene alternates to the meeting chamber of Order XIII. The silver symbol of the Nobodies shined against the untainted white walls surrounding them – the thirteen selected masters of nothingness. Thirteen thrones given only to those strong of heart and height of the seating was measured by only how accomplished one was to the Order. Because of their lack of involvement during missions, it became obvious why Mewtwo, Erazor, and Oracle had the lowest thrones of the Order with Mewtwo the lowest of the three. Duskmon, Pein, and No. VII were amongst the higher members under the Superior while other members like Roodaka, Terro, and Scion were scattered at separate heights.

"Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts." The Superior echoed. "The rage of the Keyblade releases those hearts. They gather in darkness, masterless and free, until they weave together to make Kingdom Hearts. And when that times comes, we can truly, finally exist.

---

Scion could hear movement coming from all around him and turned to see his attackers. An army of Neo Shadows emerged from the ground, surrounding the Keyblade wielder with no way of escaping. But the dark hedgehog did not seem troubled. Against all logic and possibility, Scion reached into his coat and withdrew two familiar weapons: Oblivion and Oathkeeper Keyblades. With everything going on, the man could only ask one thing.

"Where's Sonic?"

The Neo Shadows showed no concern for this question and pounced. One Heartless jumped from behind, but Scion rushed backwards and cleaved the shadow in two. Another came from the side, but the dark hedgehog turned and sliced it head off without looking. Two more Neo Shadow struck from behind and Scion easily back flipped over their heads and cut them clean down the middle. His work was far from finished.

More heartless jumped at him from every direction and No. XIII did his best to avoid them. After sidestepping a few of the Neo Shadows, Scion spun around and cut away the dark beasts. The Heartless became restless and started circling around his form while attacking at the same time. The hooded wielder used the keyblade to block them off and would often kick them to the side to keep them back. A few of the Heartless jumped into the air and the Scion saw this to his advantage.

The Keyblade Master back flipped away to avoid them and took the skies himself. The Heartless followed his lead, which is what he was hoping for. Having advantage in the air, Scion cut across several heartless and even tossed one of his Keyblades to spin around the air to cut across the rest of the flying shadows. The hooded warrior caught the Keyblade and bounded towards the steps of the skyscraper as hundreds of Heartless began to swarm. Suddenly, Scion felt a presence from the top of the skyscraper and looked up.

Espio stood at the top of the tower, blindly overlooking the war taking place below him. Realizing who he was, the hooded hedgehog rebounded off the stone statues near the steps and defied the laws of gravity by running along the side of the skyscraper. The Heartless, not wanting to let their prey escape, perused the hooded man and his Keyblades.

More Heartless began forming at the higher levels of the skyscraper, but Scion had no time to waste on them. He cleared them out of his path by crossing his Keyblades multiple times and continued his way towards the chameleon. But the Heartless were not ones to easily surrender. More formed in his path and tried everything to stop him from reaching to the top. Espio placed himself over the edge of the skyscraper to await his ally's arrival.

Scion tossed the Oblivion towards the top of the skyscraper, clearing the path of the Heartless in his way. Espio bounded over the edge at the closing presence of the Keyblade. The Heartless began to form behind the chameleon and chased after him through the air. Even without the use of his eyes, Espio captured the Oblivion and began to fall. Scion and Espio soon crossed paths with one another as they met along the largest of the television screens. The two Keyblade wielders stared at one other as the passed by one another. After a parting moment, Espio began to pick up speed as he dropped and the hooded hedgehog continued up the skyscraper.

Espio cleaved his way through the horde of shadows as Scion reached the top of the skyscraper, only to fall back and rejoin the battle. With perfect stance and finesse that could only be seen by true Keyblade Masters, Scion and Espio simultaneously eradicated the Heartless threat back-to-back. But even with the shadows eliminated, the threat still existed. Espio and Scion looked back at one another uneasily and jumped away.

"Who are you?" Scion questioned.

"What does it matter?" Espio commented. "I'm here for you."

"Why are you trying to stop me?" Scion glowered.

"Because I want to wake up Sonic and set things right." Espio answered calmly.

"Sonic, Sonic, Sonic!" Scion screamed outrageously. "I've had enough of Sonic!"

"Do you have some kind of plan?" Espio retorted.

"I am going to make up for my mistakes!" Scion proclaimed. "Then everything can go back to the way it was before! Me, and Terro, and....and her can go on having ice cream together."

"Her?" Espio said quizzically. "Kumori's powers are more effective than I thought. It's become a struggle just to remember her name now, hasn't it?" He swiped the Oblivion in front. "Either way, I can't let you go doing anything crazy."

"I...I am going to find this Sonic person." Scion stated. "And Kingdom Hearts is the only way I can do it. I want my friends back....I want my life back!!"

"If you try and make contact with Kingdom Hearts, the last thing you'll get is your life back." Espio proclaimed. "The Order will kill you without hesitation."

"Shut up!" Scion screamed.

---

After a long and difficult struggle, Espio was thrown across the street with the Oblivion at his side. Scion had a years worth of anger and frustrated locked up inside and he was ready to unleash it all on this interloper. Where was he getting in the way? How could he possibly understand what it means to lose someone you care about? Espio struggled to even shift his weight, barely able to push himself into a sitting position.

"Why?" Espio asked hoarsely. "Why do you have the Keyblade?"

"I've had just about enough of you!" Scion snarled.

The dark hedgehog raised the Oathkeeper and swiped it down for the finishing blow. But with the last of his strength, Espio miraculously maneuvered around to avoid the Keyblade and swiped the Oblivion across his opponent's chest, throwing him back. Scion only managed to stay awake to watch as Espio limped towards his position before loosing all consciousness.

---

Lily gently placed Scion on the pad, making sure he wasn't too uncomfortable. Deathwing and their hooded accomplice watched on the other side of the room while ZoN sneered at Lily's act of kindness.

"Will it work?" Lily asked.

"If we can maintain the simulated town until Kumori finishes chaining together Sonic and Amy's memories." ZoN replied.

"What will happen to Scion?" Lily asked worried.

"He holds all of Sonic's powers within himself." ZoN stated coldly. "In the end, he'll have to give it back. Until then, he'll need another identity to throw off his pursuers."

"Poor thing." Lily muttered softly.

"It's the fate of a Nobody." ZoN said emotionlessly.

Activating a specific sequence on her computer, ZoN transmitted Scion through the data project, where he would remain hiding until the proper time when he was needed.

~_End Flashback~_

* * *

It was all becoming clear to Shadow now. He was a Nobody and a member of Order XIII just like Terro and the others. He was chosen to wield the Keyblade because he held an unknown connection to Sonic and was manipulated to use it for the Order's purposes. That wasn't the part that bugged Shadow the most. What made the dark Knight's blood boil was that Espio had interfered with his intended plans and the Seekers strayed him away from his goal. All the hatred he had collected during his time of existence had exploded as Shadow unleashed his Keyblade and smashed every available space in the room. Everywhere he turned, he could see Espio, the man who caused all his troubles and ZoN, the one who commanded him like a puppet on strings. After crushing his way through everything in the room, Shadow stopped and panted heavily – he had relinquished all of his hatred.

"You better hope I don't find you, Sonic." Shadow murmured spitefully. "Because when I do, there will only be one of us left."

* * *

**A flow of hidden memories reveals the ugly truth. Will Shadow seek revenge against Sonic and the Seekers? Will Terro carry out his mission to eliminate his friend? Or will everything fall directly according to ZoN's plan? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	12. Over, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Ten: Over, Part 2

The scene returns to the secret underground chamber formerly controlled by the Seekers, who had left the world with Kumori forced in their stead. After recovering painful memories and learning of his identity, only one thought plagued the Keyblade Master's mind: revenge. The jet-black hedgehog had demolished the central control station that ZoN operated and walked off to the right into a square chamber that was apparently empty. But once realizing who he was, Shadow gained a better sense of his surroundings and knew to expect the unexpected.

"I know you're there." Shadow said monotonously. "You can come out of hiding."

At his call, the shadowed servants of the Order stepped into view and faced their former master. The group of silver beasts consisted of four meager Dusks and the beasts with zippered bodies – Shadow remembered them to be Terro's followers: Arcanum. The four Dusks remained cool and collected in the face of their master, but the Arcanum were restless and seemed to be sharpening their claws. Shadow remembered that the specific creatures only followed the commands of their respective masters while the Dusks served all of the Order. One of the stringy servants broke from the rest of the pack and kneeled to Shadow and bowed in proper respect.

"_Lord Scion, the Superior is eagerly awaiting your return._" The Dusk said in a raspy voice.

"Is he now?" Shadow responded collectively. "And I suppose No. I is willing to overlook all the trouble that I have cause in return for provide the Keyblade and my valuable services." The Dusk nodded slowly; Shadow summoned his Keyblade. "Well, I will give him my Keyblade.....just not in the way he would expect it."

And in that one instant, the jet-black hedgehog swiped his Keyblade and decapitated the unsuspecting creature – the others hissed in displeasure. It was apparent that Shadow had no intention of rejoining the Order after all the secrets that they had withheld from him – he was alone in an empty world. The remaining three Dusks counteracted from their comrade's demise and slithered at each end of the room, cornering the Keyblade Master at three points. Shadow's eyes followed the trio of lowly servants and contorted his expression with one of pure disgust. The three Dusks curved their body into the fashion of wheels and twirled across the air towards their former master. This was becoming too easy. Shadow stretched his arm outwards and curved on his heels, stopping only after he had performed a perfect circle around him. The Dusks were only unfortunate enough to be caught in the circle and each one of them were severed into two parts before evaporating. All that remained were Shadow and the two remaining Arcanum. The multi-zipper demons curled their fingers anxiously and lowered themselves closer to the floor in preparation to strike. But as the moments passed in uneasy silence, the Arcanum suddenly backed away and vanished without a trace. Shadow did not find this unexpected and turned his attention backwards as a familiar character from his past emerged from the previous room.

"Simply amazing, Scion." Terro commented coolly, passing the jet-black hedgehog. "You already know you're walking into a trap and you're willing to follow through with it. I don't know whether you're brave or stupid."

"You knew all along, didn't you?" Shadow questioned seriously. "You were a member of the Seekers the whole time and were providing them with secrets about the Order. But it looks like the double-crosser has been double-crossed – that's irony for ya?"

"I guess you finally learned the whole story." Terro smirked devilishly. "Looks like my secret is busted."

"For someone who loves to sleep around all day," Shadow commented sarcastically. "You sure are going to a lot of trouble to get on everyone's good side."

"So you really do remember me this time." Terro chuckled darkly; he waved his hands over his eyes. "I'm – so – FLATTERED!!"

The Deceptive Rouge swiped down his hands to reveal his unusually paranormal eye. They had transformed from their normally soft-violet to a glowing-orange color with pupil transforming to a vertical slit with six smaller slits surrounding it. Shadow realized that the moment he made contact, he was trapped within Terro's powerful illusion. Due to the effects of Terro's Kuasagan, the two opponents were forced out of the physical world and into the bat's shadowed mind. The new environment was a column of earth a hundred miles above the ground, drifting scarcely close to the clouds. Midnight had already taken place in this new world and the blue, heart-shape moon illuminated the area. Why did Terro bring him here of all place? Why did it seem so familiar to Shadow?

"If you think you can save yourself because we're friends, you're dead wrong." Terro proclaimed seriously. "It's too late for such bonds to exist. Now it's just you and me."

"We've been friends for so long, but you never learned a single thing about me." Shadow commented monotonously.

The Deceptive Rouge watched his former friend blankly, finding his words to be empty threats. But that was before Shadow unveiled his ultimate weapon. The jet-black hedgehog reach to either side of him and withdrew not one, but two Keyblades with different designs. The left was a silver blade with angel wings around the handle, heart symbols on the hilt, and the kanji of light took the place of the teeth. The right keyblade was a black version of its twin with bat wings around the handle, a blue diamond in the hilt, a silver chain running up the shaft, and the kanji of darkness representing the teeth. Each of them had a different keychain for the blades: a yellow star fruit for the Oathkeeper and a white crescent-moon for the Oblivion. Shadow clicked his weapons together with eagerness, forcing Terro to jump back slightly in shock.

"Two Keyblade?!" Terro exclaimed surprisingly. "I knew about the Oblivion, but where did that light Keyblade come from?"

"Like I said, you don't know a single thing about me." Shadow proclaimed. He twisted the Oblivion to rest on his shoulder with the Oathkeeper held out horizontally forward. "I am no longer fighting you as the delusion child that those Seekers forced me to become. I am Scion, No. XIII of Order XIII!"

Terro narrowed his eyes with the deepest loathing. The Deceptive Rouge threw out his hands to either side and summoned a current of orange energy around his exposed forearms. When the wave cleared, Terro was equipped with silver cuffs clasped tight to his wrists and decorated with the present No. VIII pressed into the metal. He tightened his fists and exposed the thin daggered hidden in his cuffs and locked his gaze with Scion. This was a battle to settle their friendship.

* * *

**The Deceptive Rouge: Terro**

"I'll give you this one chance." Terro offered smugly. "Come back with me and I can make this all stop."

"Sounds tempting, but not interested." Scion answered.

"Then you can just burn in hell!!" Terro roared furiously.

The Deceptive Rouge stretched his wings to full length, taking flight into the sea of sapphire clouds. Terro's looming shadow expanded the close her approached the heart-shaped moon and Scion was thrown on the defensive. The Keyblade Master only saw his former friend's confident expression before he disappeared into the surrounding clouds layer. With his memories returned, Scion's senses were heightened to their full extent, but that didn't help the fact that this was the first time the two friends had a serious battle. The Keyblade Master caught the sound of flapping wings and swiped the Oblivion into the air, blocking off Terro's left blade as he dropped from the sky. With his hand currently tired, Terro performed a backwards flip in midair and attempted to slam his foot on the hedgehog's forehead. But this plan was proven a failure as Scion swiped the free Oathkeeper to knock against the bat's ankle. Terro was twisted to the side, but managed to catch himself in midair, landing low to the ground while swiping his foot behind Scion's legs. The Key of Destiny fell backwards with an audible thud, barely taking notice as Terro straightened himself and aimed his wrist-blade above. As the Deceptive Rouge stabbed downwards, Scion crossed his Keyblade and locked his former Friend's arm into place. As Terro struggled to free himself, Scion lifted his legs and pushed against the bat's chest, throwing him back against the ground while releasing at the same time. Terro groaned in irritancy as he sat up at the same moment Scion kicked back to his feet.

"You know, you're really starting to bug me, kid." Terro stated blandly.

"I've only been fighting you for five minutes and already I'm not impressed." Scion commented, crossing his Keyblade threateningly. "You want to give up now or prolong your suffering?"

"And you call me arrogant." Terro smirked. Much to the hedgehog's amazement, his former friend began sinking into the ground. "If you want a real fight, just let change into something more comfortable."

While the Deceptive Rogue eroded into the ground, three clumps of mud rose to the surface and Scion positioned his Keyblades for battle. The trio of mud piles stopped at different heights and reshaped themselves with physical forms – each of them wore a different type of armor. The tallest of the suits was clad in mostly dark-brown and gold metal with radiant-red steel on the chest, forearm, and horned helmet. The smallest off the suits was comprised mostly of sterling-silver with golden armor on the abdomen, kneecaps, and shoulder pads. And between them was a slender suit made from most dull-grey steel and midnight-blue metal around the chest, hips, and forearms.

While Scion saw nothing unusual about the trio of armor until they kneeled down and stabbed through hands into the ground. When the trio of armors stood up, Scion was thrown back in surprise as they were seen wielding s different Keyblade. The tallest carried a strong, bronzed-steeled key with a dull-green rim and a rock fragment acting as the Keychain. The smallest summoned a mechanical blade that he wielded in reverse with roughly jagged teeth and two feathers at the keychain. And the central one wielded a long, ocean-blue black with the teeth shaped similar to a crown, a white guard around the handle, and a drop of water at the keychain. Scion kept the Oathkeeper and Oblivion close to himself as the mysterious Keyblade wielding armors circled him in a menacing fashion.

"Where did these guys come from?" Scion questioned, staggering left and right. "Why do they have Keyblades? Terro, do you know something that you're not telling me?!"

"Actually, I should be asking you the same thing." Terro echoed loudly. "These warriors are crafted from the sleeping memories in your mind. Somewhere along the way, you have encountered these people before....or someone close to you has."

"Sonic..." Scion murmured.

"How he met these keyblade wielders, I do not know." Terro echoed monotonously. "But I intend to make sure that you don't find out."

With his unheard command, the tallest Keyblade Master dashed ahead from behind Scion, thrusting his chosen weapon in a downwards motion. The jet-black hedgehog detected his movements and held the Oathkeeper behind his head to block the attacking Keyblade Master. This proved to be Scion's stupidest mistake ever as the larger wielder was clearly superior in terms of brute strength. The Oathkeeper was forced out of the jet-black hedgehog's hands and almost had his hand snapped off, but managed to pull away in time to prevent this. Scion skidded across the ground on his feet, forced to dodge and duck his opponent's weapon, which smashed the ground every time he performed a vertical strike. There was no way Scion could compete with this man one-on-one.

"_Terro has definitely improved since the last time we practiced._" Scion thought, continually dodging the Keyblade warrior. "_I obviously can't win this face him directly. I need to do something unexpected._"

His moment of thought nearly cost him his head as the Keyblade warrior swiped across his neckline. It was by pure instinct that the jet-black hedgehog managed to drop to the ground fast enough to avoid decapitation. While still crouching in the dirt, Scion saw the Oathkeeper resting helplessly on the ground helpless, which was certainly his ticket to victory. And as the mighty warrior raised his Keyblade above his head, the jet-black hedgehog swiped the Oblivion against his ankles to knock him off his feet. The armored warrior dropped with a dull thud and the dual wielder took this great opportunity to make a dash for his chosen weapon, but not before kicking his enemy in the head. From Scion's point of view, it looked like he would be able to grab the Oathkeeper and beat the bulking armor. That was until the feminine armor stabbed her own Keyblade in the Oathkeeper's rim and the smaller one stood in front in defense.

"Haha! Nice try, kid!" Terro laughed humorously; it sounded like he was in the smaller armor. "But it's gonna take a lot more than a few cheap tricks to beat me. Especially when everything is happening in my mind."

"You have an overactive imagination." Scion glowered.

The smallest of the three armors charged ahead, swiping his Keyblade in a reverse fashion. Judging by his uncoordinated movements and wide strikes, this one was the most inexperienced of the three suits of armor. Scion was able to outmaneuver the opponent and ducked behind him as the smaller armor, slamming his elbow into the armor's spine. While the younger Keyblade wielder was thrown forward into the dirt, the feminine master dashed ahead and clashed blades with No. XIII. The jet-black hedgehog found himself able to keep up with the female's movements, but the warrior's fluid motions were becoming more difficult with each strike. Finally, the two locked blades with one another and the female curved her arm around in a circular motion, forcing the Oblivion out of Scion's hand and throwing it to the side. The jet-black hedgehog was forced to the ground on his bottom with the female's Keyblade raised to his throat. The other two armors also picked themselves up, pointing their weapons surrounding him.

"Damn it..." Scion cursed angrily.

"This is your fault, Scion." Terro echoed darkly. "You never should have turned your back on the Order. If you had just stayed in your place, I would never have never been forced to eliminate you by the Superior. I could have recovered Amy's memories unnoticed and then we could have gone back to eating ice cream at the castle."

"Because it needs to be done." Scion answered lowly. "I know what I'm doing is for the best."

"What makes you so sure?" Terro growled frustrated. "Everyone always thinks they're right – ZoN and the Superior are the same. They think that everything they do is for the best reason and they don't give a damn about what happens to anyone else. They never see the bigger picture of their actions. So tell me what makes you're big decision the right one."

"Because it is right." Scion said simply.

"Well, I intend to make sure you never find out." Terro stated sternly. "You're trapped in my mind and there's no way for you to escape."

"It may be your mind, but it's my memories." Scion said with determination. "And if I focus on those memories, I can dig into something deeper. Something that has been buried in the past."

Something in those words seemed to stir the attention of the armored warriors as they raised their Keyblades simultaneously to strike. But by that time, their actions were in vein as Scion slammed his fist into the ground. A geyser of pure darkness exploded upon contact, throwing the three Keyblade warriors off their balance. As the darkness spread to clot the light of the heart-shaped moon, the column of earth began to fracture from the explosion and fragments broke off from the main structure, piece by piece. Gravity took its control and tried to drag the Keyblade wielder down, but the armored trio managed to safely land on three separate stone fragments as they slowly drifted downwards. But in all the calamity, they seemed to have lost track of Scion.

"Where did he go?" Terro questioned.

"Right in front of you."

The trio of armored warrior curved their attention to a floating fragment across the sea of chaos. The jet-black hedgehog had disappeared completely and was replaced by someone else – someone Terro didn't know. He was garbed in a full-body battle suit that seemed skintight with silky-white gloves, white boots with black buckles, white markings across the abdomen and chest, and a dark helmet. The dark-suited warrior carried a different Keyblade than his predecessor: A majority of the body was mechanical, demonic-blue eyes were prominent at the teeth and hilt, the teeth was made from red/black cogs, and the keychain was represented by three bronze gears. The enigmatic warrior raised the Keyblade in one hand over his head while waving his free hand challengingly ahead.

"What...are you?" Terro asked stunned.

"Your worst nightmare." Scion responded.

The helmeted warrior remained solitary for one moment, a fragment of rock passed into view, and he disappeared without a trace. And by the time the other Keyblade Wielders discovered his location, the feminine warrior found the stranger's Keyblade stabbing through her chest. The Taller of the trio was the fastest to react to this ask the masked warrior threw the defeated female towards the ground. While the bulky warrior was superior in strength, his speed was the fatal weakness that cost him dearly. While the tall Keyblade Master had jumped forward with his Keyblade raised to strike, the masked swordsman slashed his Keyblade across and severed the armor into two pieces. That only left the smallest of the group to fend for himself. The younger fighter poised his weapon in a defensive manner while keeping the enigmatic killer in his sights. But with the debris flying in every direction, it was very easy to lose track of where anything was – and that's what he did. The enigmatic fighter vanished from sight and reappeared behind the smaller opponent, grabbing the master by his helmet and raising him off the ground. Try as the smaller warrior would, he could not relinquish his captors grip, which was tightening with each passing moment. Eventually, the helmet cracked and the visor shattered to reveal Terro's legendary eye beneath the mask.

"You really have gotten better, Scion." Terro compliment.

"And you haven't changed a bit, Terro." Scion proclaimed.

With the cog-blade tight in his grip, the enigmatic warrior raised his weapon and swiped it around for the final strike.

**Terro: Defeated**

* * *

The scene returns to the underground chamber within ZoN's hidden domain. After an exhausting battle between them, Terro and Scion returned to the realm of reality after they were forcefully expelled from the Kuasagan's power. The jet-black hedgehog shook the strain from his stressed shoulders, feeling surprisingly tired, and looked back to his old friend. – A wave of guilt and grief washed over him. The crimson bat was bending over with his left arm cradled around his waist with a thick layer of blood breaching the area where he struck in Terro's mind. It was then he realized the horribly truth: everything that happened was made real. The sadness enveloped his heart, reminding himself of their last encounter.

* * *

---_Flashback---_

"If you get on their bad side, they'll destroy you." Terro warned.

"No one will miss me." Scion responded uncaring.

No. XIII was not about to be forced off his path when he was so close to discovering who he truly was, even if it meant discarding his closest friend. But after finally settling the resolve that Nobodies did not have friends, Scion continued down to street without a second thought. But if he had stayed only a few seconds longer, he would have heard the heartfelt words from the Deceptive Rogue.

"That's not true...." Terro murmured sadly. "I would."

---_End Flashback---_

* * *

"Terro..." Scion said softly.

"Hey, buddy." Terro grinned weakly. "Let's meet again...in the next life."

"Yeah, I'll be waiting." Scion nodded appreciatively.

"You're so naïve." Terro chuckled humorously. "Just because you have a next life........"

But that was the last Scion would ever hear from his beloved best friend. The Deceptive Rogue closed his eyes in exhaustion with a pleased expression present on his face. At least he was able to see his friend one last time. Terro collapsed on the floor only a few moments before his body was evaporated in a wash of orange energy. Scion wanted to look away from the pain of the experience, but he watched his friend's death out of pure respect.

"Good bye...friend." Scion murmured.

The time had come for Scion to return to his original mission. The Keyblade Master followed a doorway just right of the room where Terro and he fought, leading him down a small hallway with more computer engineering. Along the way, he round a row of egg-shaped pods lined against the wall. He held a strange suspicion of the existence and investigated the unusual objects further. True to his belief, he discovered four character that he knew very well.

"Silver and Storm..." Scion said knowingly. "Angel and Marine....."

If four members of the original team were around, that could only mean their leader was very close by. There was only one door left separating him and the end of his journey. With a great sigh, Scion pushed the door away from his path and entered the hidden sanctuary. The room he had entered seemed something out of a dream, which it probably was. It was a pure-white room with an electronic floor and a large egg-shaped capsule positioned in the center of the room. Scion could tell by the tug in his chest that his other half was sleeping in that pod. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one in the room.

"I see you had the pleasure of reacquainting with Terro." ZoN smirked malevolently. "But I knew even he could not distract the Keyblade's chosen one."

"Who are you talking to?" Scion asked sarcastically. "Me or Sonic?"

"To half of Sonic, of course." ZoN responded pleasantly. "You reside in darkness. What I need is someone who can move about the realm of light and utterly annihilate Order XIII."

"Just who are you?" Scion growled.

"I am a servant of the world." ZoN answered explicitly. "And if I'm a servant, then you should consider yourself a tool, at best."

"Was that..." Scion hissed heatedly. "Was that supposed to be a joke? Cause I'm not laughing!!"

The jet-black hedgehog summoned the Oblivion to his hand and charged recklessly at the cruel manipulator. However unfortunate, Scion slashed across her waist and discovered that it was only a projection of her form.

"You didn't think I would be stupid enough to show myself, did you?" ZoN laughed cruelly.

Anger swelled in Scion's mind. He had lost everything – Kumori, Terro, his life, his memories, and even his freedom. Everything was stripped away from him piece-by-piece, leaving nothing for the scarred Nobody to cling to. Even it she wasn't real, Scion slashed his Keyblade across ZoN's image, just hoping that she would feel some type of pain and suffering. She deserved nothing but eternal torture. And at his final stroke, the enigmatic woman disappeared, leaving Scion to collect his breathe after his most recent outburst. But the woman ceased to plague him and instead reappeared close to the containment pod – Scion growled frustrated.

"I hate you so much." Scion spat.

"You should share some of that hatred with Sonic." ZoN suggested. "He's much too kind for his own good."

"No!" Scion screamed. "My heart belongs to me!"

Even Scion knew that was a lie – he didn't have a heart. ZoN seemed to find the accusation funny and began laughing in a cold and heartless manner while Scion restrained himself from attacking again. And then it happened. With a soft glow of light, the central pod opened its confinement, layer by layer, revealing its slumber guest. Scion gaped at the cobalt-blue hedgehog – there was so much similar between them. The same structure, the same face, and possibly even the same eyes. This was the answered Scion had been looking for...and he was satisfied with it. ZoN looked between the two hedgehogs, taking a sudden interest in the Nobody as he evaporated his Keyblade.

"What are you going to do now?" ZoN questioned.

"I said that when I would find Sonic, there would only be one of us left." Scion responded collectively. "And as much as I want to hate Sonic right now, I can't. I don't have the heart to do it." He chuckled at his own unintentional joke. "Someone that shouldn't exist in the first place should not be allowed to interfere with the live of others."

"Are you...?" ZoN stammered surprisingly. "You're really going to surrender...that easily?"

"Its like Kumori said: Sonic can't wake up without me." Scion answered respectfully. "We both agree on one thing: the Order needs to be stopped at once and their plans must be put to an end. I can't go to the realm of nothingness and fight the Order – I'm just not powerful enough to beat them. But Sonic..." He watched the slumbering hedgehog in gratitude. "He has what it takes to go beyond the limit." He turned momentarily to the enigmatic woman. "ZoN, can you promise me one thing?"

"Hmm." ZoN hummed questionably.

"Can you make sure Kumori stays safe?" Scion requested. "She all that I have left."

"I...." ZoN said hesitantly before nodded with certainty. "I promise."

"Thank you." Scion smiled happily before turning back to Sonic. "Sonic...you're lucky. It looks like my summer vacation is...over." his body was slowly being eroded into a thick stream of light, all centered directly into Sonic's heart. But just as his waist started to disappear, he turned to the masked woman one last time. "Oh, and before I forget. I forgive you, ZoN."

And with that, Shadow allowed himself to be consumed by the light and settled himself in Sonic's completed heart. When the Keyblade Master wakes up, all his memories and all his friend's memories would be restored to their proper place. Everything went according to ZoN's plan.......but she felt no satisfaction. Beyond any belief, ZoN clenched her teeth and hiccupped to suppress an open sob, but a single tear managed to escape her mask.

"I'm sorry...Shadow." ZoN whimpered.

* * *

_---Flashback---_

The scene alternates to the gates of the ancient ruins, but the newly boy hedgehog was so confused. He stood to his feet, but held no recognition of who he was or where he came from. Why was he here? Why couldn't he remember his own name? And why did he even exist in the first place? He was a helpless child lost in a big world. And whether by divine province or complete accident, a guide emerged from the darkness. A man concealed in a Black Cloak stood before him – his voice was strong and calming.

"You seek answers." The Superior said coolly. "I can give you purpose."

The unknown leader waved his hand across the air, forming silver letters floating between them.

**S-O-N-I-C**

And with a casual wave of his hand, he commanded the letters to spin around the newest member. The black hedgehog watched hopefully at the glowing radiance circling around his essence. Maybe this man was the savior he had asked for. The Superior thrusted his hand forward to command the letters to stop with a golden tinge. They formed a single word – the name of the chosen hero who would bravely venture through peril and suffering to restore hope to the lost few.

**S-C-I-O-N**

**---**

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

* * *

**Scion's journey has come to its end and the new adventure begins. What challenges will Sonic and his friends face down the road? Will they find King Jet and Espio again? How will the war between the Seekers and the Order play out? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	13. A Savior Reborn, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Eleven: A Savior Reborn, Part 1

The scene returns to the train station's central hub in Soleanna. The tourist, residents, and merchants were going about their own business, never he wondering if there was a possibility of Scion's existence. Because in there world, he never did. However, there was one person who noticed the Keyblade Master's sudden disappearance and he was arriving in the train station at this very moment. The mythical Ghost Train glided silently along the rails and came to a halt at the station platform, drawing the attention of everyone passing by. A man garbed in a Black Cloak emerged from the train at the moments the doors opened, hiding his face beneath the dark hood. The enigmatic man searched the station with his ocean-blue, hawk-like eyes.

* * *

Sonic drifted aimlessly through the darkness, slowly stirring from his long-delayed sleep. The cobalt hedgehog groaned and straightened himself, rubbing his sleepy eyes. After his vision was momentarily blurred, Sonic saw a lonely character standing off in the distance. Why did he seem so familiar?

"Sonic..." The boy smiled happily.

"Who are you?" Sonic asked.

"_Sonic!_"

"_Wakey-wakey, mate!_"

* * *

The Keyblade Master shook his head and yawned loudly – his awakening had finally arrived. Sonic waited patiently as the memory pod lowered its wall around him, despite the hedgehog wondering what he was doing there in the first place. And the first thing he witnessed upon his return to the realm of reality made his heart skip for joy. Silver the Hedgehog, Storm the Albatross, Experiment 624/Angel, and Marine the Raccoon were standing in a gathered circle at the foot of the pod. Sonic couldn't resist his urges – he jumped straight into the arms of his team.

"Guys, it's you!" Sonic screamed joyously as he hugged each individual friend. "For some reason, I keep thinking I haven't seen you in years!"

"Oh, I missed you, mate!" Marine cried happily with tears of joy running down her face; Sonic gently wiped them away. "I don't know why, but it feels like I haven't seen you forever! When I woke up, I was worried I wouldn't find you."

"It does feel like it has been ages since we've seen each other." Angel said perfectly, cracking her stiff bones. "It even looks like it has been a while, too."

The Keyblade Master stared at the pink experiment while placing Marine down on the ground, looking at himself with interest. Sonic had definitely grown a few inches during his sleep, the fingers of his gloves were ripped away, his untrimmed quills reached down to his tail, and his shoes felt two sizes too small – he removed them with relief. Noting his sudden change, he looked at the rest of his team. Marine, who was once half Sonic's size, now reached closer to his shoulders. Her hair bands were removed to reveal the chestnut-brown hair that reach to her spine and her clothes were tighter than normal, but the twin scars on her right eye still remained after the battle against Mephiles. Silver had also taken a notice change as well. He was equal height with Sonic, his silvery fur gained a whiter tinge, and his mane held a savage appearance. The only ones that hadn't been changed by this unknown anomaly were Angel and Storm. The pink experiment reason for the lack of age was easy to understand, but why wasn't Storm affected like the rest?

"Ugh, that was some nap." Silver groaned.

"You mean, we were asleep this whole time?" Sonic asked curiously.

"We must have been or else we wouldn't be so tired." Silver muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"When do you think we went to sleep?" Storm said questionably.

"Well, let's go over what we know so far." Sonic contemplated thoughtfully. Let's see....we defeated Mephiles...closed the Door to Darkness...found Amy...and then we went off to look for Espio. After that, I kinda remember seeing Duskmon, but everything's blurry after that."

"Ya think Duskmon had something to do with it?" Angel asked.

"There is one way to find out." Silver said; the others looked to him. And quick as a flash, Silver retrieved a leather-bound, black journal with a golden crown on the face. "I have been keeping a record of our adventures since our first meeting in Traverse Town. If we've been to somewhere, this journal will tell us everything."

"What does it say?" Storm asked as Silver flipped through the page.

"Hmm...This is odd." Silver hummed interestingly. "All my notes are missing. There's only one sentence left: Thank Kumori."

"Anyone know a bloke named Kumori?" Marine questioned curiously. The teams looked at one another, shaking their heads in utter bewilderment. "I think that book's a dud, mate."

"Well, standing around here won't solve our problems." Angel commented impatiently. "I say we get out of where this place is and figure out what world we landed on. Then we might be able to retrace out steps."

"Yay! Fieldtrip!" Marine cheered, scurrying out the door.

"Marine, get back here!" Sonic shouted, chasing after the rascally raccoon.

* * *

The scene alternates back into the city of Soleanna shortly after the Sonic Team managed to scramble their way out of the ancient ruins. When they first reached the outer walls of the city, they were absolutely certain that they were not in the same world they had been in after defeating Mephiles. But this was nothing compared to their reactions when Storm found a discarded newspaper on the ground and checked the date. The team nearly had a heart attack when learning that an entire _year _has passed by without them noticing. People stared at the unusual group and whispered loudly over their unorthodox appearance, small clothing, and their confused expressions. So after twenty minutes of traveling through the city, the Sonic Team learned they were in a territory controlled by the Kingdom Knights. For reason's unknown, Sonic unknowingly led the group to the warehouse the served as a base for the Knights, stopping suddenly at the entrance.

"You ok, mate?" Marine asked.

"I don't know." Sonic said, scratching his head cluelessly. "I think I've been to this town before."

"Are you sure?" Silver said worried to his apprentice. "Do you remember the name of this place."

"Hmm...I...guess I just imagine it." Sonic said uncertainly. "It's just weird. I keep getting the feeling that I supposed to meet someone here."

"Then let's go inside and check it out." Storm suggested.

The Keyblade Master nodded in confirmation and walked bracingly into the abandoned warehouse. At least he thought it was abandoned. The inside of the structure had been altered to accommodate any people who would stop by, including the trio still inside. Knuckles was lying on the rafters with his leg swinging aimlessly, Tails was leaning against the second-story guardrails, and Rouge was sitting on the moth-eaten couch with a magazine. All in all, they were bored out of their minds. That was until they noticed five unknown intruders walk into their Usual Spot like a group of clueless children.

"What are you doing here!?" Knuckles glared as he sat up.

"Uh, nothing!" Angel stated quickly. "We were just wondering what was back here!"

"Now you know." Knuckles growled. "This is our territory – no outsiders allowed."

"Don't listen to the knucklehead." Rouge smiled welcomingly; Knuckles scoffed. "He's just mad because Zeenint beat him in the quarterfinals and took the championship. He's always a sore loser."

"I think I can understand that." Sonic chuckled.

"Hey, you guys are new around here, right?" Tails asked excitedly, drifting down to the group. "We're the Kingdom Knights. My name is Miles Prowler, but everyone calls me Tails." He points to the white bat. "This is Rouge the Bat." He waved his hand to the rafters, only to find that the red echidna had escaped. "Knuckles the Echidna used to be sitting up there, but he's in a bad mood and probably went to get ice cream.

"He's going to get an ulcer with all those sweets." Rouge said, shaking her head disapprovingly. "Hey, did you guys finish the summer homework? Independent studies are the worst, right?"

"Homework?!" Sonic exclaimed fearfully. "No one said anything about homework!!"

"So you really aren't from around town." Tails said excitedly. "What are your names?"

"Oh, my name is Sonic the Hedgehog." Sonic announced. "These are my friends: Silver, Storm, Angel, and Marine."

At the mention of those names, Tails and Rouge glanced at one another in wonderment before staring back at the heroes. Sonic suddenly felt like he was being put on display and fidgeted under their gaze. The white bat turned her partner around and moved closer to whisper something so the others couldn't hear them. Was there something about their names that made the Kingdom Knights secretive or afraid? After nodding to one another, the duo look back at the group with a mixture of seriousness and curiosity.

"Sonic, you wouldn't happen to have something called a Keyblade, would you?" Rouge asked.

"Wha – how did you know about that?" Sonic questioned shockingly; the heroes gasped.

"Someone named Zo..." Tails spoke before Rouge's hand clamped over his mouth.

"Another person came before the warehouse a few hours ago." Rouge answered diligently. "He said he was looking for a guy named Sonic and told us he was a blue hedgehog carrying a Keyblade. We didn't know what that meant at first, but we had a feeling it was something important."

"He sure seemed in a hurry." Tails added, removing the hand. "He had a black coat on so we couldn't see his face, but he did say he was from someplace called..." He stopped in a moment of hesitation, trying to find the proper word. "Baublog...bibblion..."

"Babylon?" Storm offered helpfully; Tails nodded affirmatively.

The group knocked their heads together – almost in a literal sense – trying to identify their mysterious searcher. He was a man from Babylon Garden and he knew that Sonic was able to wield the Keyblade. Now who in the worlds could know all that. The answer came almost instantaneously for the Sonic Team.

"The king!" The Sonic Team shouted together.

"Quick! Which way did he go?!" Sonic asked excitedly.

"We saw him heading to the train station." Rouge answered awkwardly to the jumping hedgehog. "He said something about a master and stopping nobody, which really didn't make any sense." She pulled Tails by his wrist and dragged him to the doorway. "Well, we've got to get back on our assignment. Feel free to stop by any time."

"Yay! The king's trying to find us!" Marine cheered bubbly once the Knight were out of sight.

"Then let's not lose him!" Silver exclaimed seriously. "Everyone, head to the train station!"

That was easier said than done since they had no idea where anything in this city was. But this was possibly their only chance to be reunited with the king of Babylon Garden and finish this endless adventure. The Sonic Team dash out into the street, never noticing the Kingdom Knights, including Knuckles, watching them around the corner. The group tried asking for directions to the train station, but everyone either shunned them because of their meager appearance or just didn't care. Angel even threatened to bite off a shopkeeper's head until Storm managed to restrain his rambunctious partner. And for the next ten minutes, they wandered aimlessly through town without realizing they had left the Kingdom Knight's territory.

"Ah, this is hopeless." Sonic sighed in defeat. "We'll never find that train station."

"Aw, don't worry, mate." Marine added cheerfully. "We'll find the king eventually."

"I admire your optimism, Marine." Silver groaned irritably. "But how are we going to find the king if we can't even find ourselves. It's not like the answer is just come flying in front of us and slam into the wall."

Contrary to his belief, a golden blur flew by and slammed into the wall on their right. Damien the Dog coughed roughly as he slumped closer to the ground, growling spitefully at the trio approaching him. Armand the Tiger stomped his foot on the hound's chest while Zeenint and Gemini Rose watched the match from the sidelines. The dark hedgehog sniggered venomously at Damien's situation while Zeenint only watched with a bored appearance.

"Looks like your little coup failed, Damien." Zeenint stated monotonously. "You thought throwing Armand in a sack and trapping Gemini in a cage would give you enough to take me on? You still haven't learned anything in the two years you've joined the Soleanna Signers – no one can beat me."

"Someone's a little arrogant." Sonic said sternly.

"And where did you come from?" Zeenint questioned lightly; Sonic glared. "This is Soleanna Signer business, meaning you're not involved in our matter." His hand twitched eagerly. "But unless you want to start something..."

"Well, three against one isn't fair." Sonic commented.

"Even I have a sense of honor." Zeenint proclaimed. "I fought Damien in a one-on-one match and defeated him easily. But the he tried to pull a weapon on me and by two friends just did what they could to protect me. Damien is the one who disgraced the name of the Soleanna Signers."

"Yeah, so unless you want to get your tails handed to ya, you'll leave." Gemini waved annoyingly.

If there was one thing Sonic never learned, it was how to walk away from a fight. Sonic lowered himself into his battle stance with the rest of his team following his lead. Zeenint smirked with a trace of excitement as the Soleanna Signer, minus Damien, prepared themselves for the upcoming fight. Sonic's hand was ready to summon the Keyblade until...

"You boys wouldn't be causing trouble, would you?" Both groups looked over as Princess Elise the 3rd walked into between them, folding her arms in intrigue. "If you two are going to fight, you should at least make it a proper one-on-one Brawl."

"Your majesty." Zeenint said, bowing in respect. "What are you doing here?"

"In all the excitement, I forgot to offer you my congratulations." Elise smiled peacefully. "I was very impressed at how you managed to defeat Hybrid in the final match of the Brawlers Tournament. I knew Hybrid was capable of some forms of magic, but I never realized what kind of power you could control, too."

"Thank you, your majesty." Zeenint nodded appreciatively.

"Um...excuse me lady." Marine said, tugging at the princess's skirt. The redheaded princess smiled and kneeled down to the little bundle of energy. "We're looking for our friend and we can't find him. Do you know where the train station is?"

"Of course." Elise answered happily. "You just head four blocks to the west and it will be the big building on your right." She looked up from the little girl and inspected the rest of her friends. "I've never seen you before. Where are you guys from?"

"I'm Sonic, but we don't have time to explain." Sonic said hurriedly. "We've got to find our friend, but we'll tell you more the next time we see each other."

Elise blinked in confusion as Sonic grabbed his little companion by the scruff of her neck and dragged her out of sight, followed by the rest of the team. This was definitely an experience they were not going to forget anytime soon. Following the princess's directions, the Sonic Team navigated their way through the streets and reached the territory of the Rumble Racers, spotting the trains station straight ahead. And inside, they would surely find the king – it was almost too good to be true. And as you may have guessed, it was. From the moment the Sonic Team stepped into the station area, vortexes of grey and silvered erupted from the ground around them, distributing a horde of Dusks.

"Why am I not surprise?!" Angel screamed angrily.

"What are these things?" Storm questioned as the huddled back-to-back. "They don't look like Heartless."

Unknown to the rest of the team, Sonic was not as threatened by the silver monsters as the others were. Instead, he was more focused on the symbol on the beast's forehead: a turned heart with a spiked cross. Something in his memories stirred to the first day when he learned of the door to Destiny Island's heart.

* * *

_---Flashback---_

Little Sonic was only five years-old at the time when he first explode the secret cave at the base of the waterfall. He had heard rumors from Espio that monsters lived inside that devoured little children like him. Now, he knew Espio was making up stories to scare him, but that didn't soften the fact that he was scared. Sonic crawled softly into the back of the cave, where he found and open space with a small ray of light breaching the ceiling. It was then Sonic saw the blank door at the end of the tunnel...and the silver creature watching it intently. As Sonic accidentally gasped in fright, the silver creature turned its head and present the symbol of its kind: a turned heart with a spiked cross. Not bothering to see if it was friendly, little Sonic raced out of the cave, screaming to the top of his lungs. And jump as he made it to the waterfall, he accidentally bumped into Espio, knocking them both down.

"Hey, Sonic, watch where you're going." Espio groaned, rubbing his head.

"Espio, we've got to run!" Sonic screamed frantically, pointing to the cave mouth. "There's a monster in there!"

"A monster?" Espio laughed tauntingly. "Yeah, right."

"It's true!" Sonic snapped. "It was white and stretchy! You have to believe me!"

---_End Flashback---_

* * *

"I've seen these things before." Sonic acknowledged unknowingly.

"Sonic, move!"

The cobalt hedgehog snapped his attention back to reality just as one of the Dusks made their approach. In that instant, Sonic summoned his Keyblade and swiped at the silver beast, only to watch it curve around the blade. As it landed, the silver monster twisted its neck completely around and hissed at the weapon in the hedgehog's hand. As Sonic looked over to the rest of his team, he realized how strong these monsters were and how out of shape they were. Silver's magic was proving less potent and merely reflected off the surface of the Dusk's skin. Marine was back to his regular state of when she first learned of her powers, meaning that she didn't know how to control them. Storm and Angel were still as strong as they were a year ago, but the true difficulty rested in actually catching the slipper soldiers. It only took a matter of seconds before Silver and the others were thrown into a pile, all groaning in injury and defeat.

"Silver, Angel!" Sonic shouted worried. "You guys all right?!"

"We can't take them." Angel said sadly. "They're too fast and too strong."

"We've got to make a break for it while we still have a chance!" Storm exclaimed.

"No, we can't leave now!" Sonic shouted sternly, raising his Keyblade to the monsters. "This may be the last time we ever come this close to seeing the king again! I'm not about to back away after making it this far!"

The rest of the team shouted words to make him rethink his strategy, but the cobalt hedgehog remained adamant. He was too stubborn for his own good. Sonic gripped the handle of his Keyblade and skipped off the ground, lunging forward for a striking stab. However, the Dusks were well prepared for Sonic's tactics and effortlessly twisted the chests out of the Keyblade's range, presenting the prefect opportunity for a counterstrike. The silver beast over head stabbed his pointed hands downward and pierced through the hedgehog's palms, pinning them to the ground. This not only prevented Sonic from moving his hands, but he had also unintentionally released his Keyblade, watching it fade in a flash of light. The cobalt hedgehog struggled under his captor, who was much stronger than its appearance led them to believe. And while Sonic was unable to move, the remainder of the Dusk horde ignored the rest of the Sonic Team and tossed themselves across the air to the blue warrior. Marine and the others only watched in fear as the silver squadron threw their bodies over their leader, slowly suffocating him.

"Let go of him, you big palookas!" Marine yelled heatedly. She ran at the group while swinging her arms, but one of the Dusks broke from the group and headbutted her back to the others. "Owie! That hurt!"

"These things aren't Heartless – they're stronger." Silver proclaimed. "We've never fought an enemy that can move and think the way they do. Not since Mephiles, that is."

"And we barely beat him the first time!" Storm cried frantically. "What are we going to do?!"

What were they going to do? The Dusks easily overpowered the group and even took out the Keyblade Master without wasting a single breathe. Only a true miracle could ensure their survival. And luckily, that miracle had been watching the entire encounter from the roof of the train station. Just when the Sonic Team was prepared to get desperate, a figure wearing a Black Cloak jumped down from the station and dived into the huddle of Dusks. No one was absolutely sure what happened inside, but a flash of golden light exploded and evaporated the Dusks into nothingness. Once realizing that he had been saved, Sonic opened his eyes and stared at his protector. The Black Cloak instantly made him think of Duskmon, but the weapon he carried proved otherwise. It was a Keyblade similar to Sonic's, but the main body was gold while the rim around the handle was pure white with the symbol of Babylon Garden acting as the Keychain. He knew exactly who this mysterious savior was. And, unfortunately, Silver and Storm realized it, too.

"Your majesty?" Silver asked hopefully. He and Silver jumped on their leader's back and unknowing shoved his face back into the ground. "Your majesty, is that really you?"

"Not so loud." King Jet said in a hushed tone. "You gotta get on the train and leave the city. Once you get off, you'll find someone that can help you." He reached into his coat and retrieved a small orange pouch ornamented with a shield and two crossing swords. "Take this with ya. It'll tell you a little about what's been happening."

The Keyblade Master, shoving his friends off, accepted the pouch and watched it closely. Judging by the weight, there was something inside. But when he turned his focus back to the king for answers, King Jet was already gone.

"Where'd he go?" Angel asked curiously.

"Well, you've got to give him points for style." Silver commented surprisingly. "What's inside that thing?"

"Let's take a look." Sonic said, opening the small bag. "It looks like a lot of rings and....a blue crystal. Wait, there's something else in here." He brushed the other items away and pulled out a folded piece of paper from inside. He unfolded the paper and scanned its contents. "It's a journal entry. No, it's my dad's journal entry!"

"Your dad!" Marine shouted shockingly.

"But how did the king get this?" Sonic asked, taking a moment to ponder. "Last time we saw him, he was behind the Door to Darkness with Espio. Somehow...he got out." His eyes were wide when realization struck him. "And if he's here, that must mean Espio is here somewhere!"

"It's possible." Angel nodded.

"Well, I'm gonna go look for Espio." Sonic stated confidently. "Then he and I can go back to the islands together. Amy's not going to wait forever. So what are the rest of you going to do?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Silver said, shaking his head along with the other. "Man, if you were any slower, you'd be walking backwards."

"We made a promise to stick together to the very end." Storm smiled proudly. "The king can take care of himself, but you'll need our help. After all, you'd be dead by now if it wasn't for us saving your tail every time."

"Very funny." Sonic chuckled. "Looks like we're sticking together for one last journey. We're of to....where are we going again?"

"Wow, you really are slow." Angel sweat dropped.

Angel and Marine shoved the cobalt hedgehog through the double doors of the train station while the while their partners sniggered behind their hands. While Sonic ordered five tickets into the station, the Kingdom Knights suddenly walked in and stopped in front of the Sonic Team. The off-worlder group blink with confusion apparent, wondering what they could possibly have to say, especially Knuckles of all people.

"You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye, were ya." Knuckles grinned. "I don't know why, but it felt right to see you off."

"Really?" Sonic asked consciously. "Well...thanks."

Sonic didn't understand why he was feeling this way, but he felt grateful to know that these three came to see him, even if they didn't know each other. However, the ticket counter was quickly growing impatient at the cobalt hedgehog and threatened to take away the tickets unless he paid. Sonic shuffled hurriedly through his quills and accidentally dropped the orange pouch to the ground. As he picked it up and retrieved the rings inside, Rouge stared at the little pouch in his hands, feeling to same bag tied at her hips. This was definitely not normal. After receiving the tickets, Sonic stepped close to the stairs and stopped apprehensively – like a lead weight was dropped in his heart.

"I can't help feeling like we won't see this town again." Sonic said sorrowfully; The Kingdom Knights watched.

"Ah, you're just thinking too much." Silver said, pushing his apprentice forward. "We'll have plenty of time to visit this place after we find out what King Jet wanted us to find."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sonic nodded appreciatively. It didn't take long for them to find the Ghost Train in the expansive platform – it was the only one that stood out. And while his team border one-by-one, Sonic stayed back to say good bye to the Kingdom Knights. "It looks like this is it. I'm kinda disappointed that we didn't get to know each other, but I know we'll see each other again someday."

"Yeah." Knuckles nodded slowly. "Sonic, are you sure we haven't met before? Something about you seems oddly familiar."

"Hmm..." Sonic hummed thoughtfully. "Positive. I don't remember anything about this place. Why do you ask?"

"Eh, it's nothing." Knuckles waved nonchalantly.

The cobalt hedgehog stared at his new friend strangely, but learned to give a sense of respect and appreciation towards the Knights. Then something in his chest pulsated. It was his heart nor Dark Sonic's but something else that he didn't know about. For some reason, Sonic felt unusually sad – almost like lose a loved one or a dear friend. Without him knowing it, the Keyblade Master relinquished a single tear from his eye. The Kingdom Knight were shocked by the aspect until Sonic realized what had happened, swiftly wiping the droplet away.

"Hey, you ok?" Rouge asked kindly.

Y-Yeah." Sonic choked, feeling his sadness growing each second. "I don't know what came over me. I really need to pull it together." After managing to control his emotions, he stepped into the train and waved to the trio. "See ya later."

The Kingdom Knights watched with an unknown sadness growing in their hearts as the train doors closed between them and the Keyblade Master. Maybe there was something bigger between them that they never realized. And by the time the train left the station, each of the Knights were present with their own tears.

* * *

Meanwhile, the train moved above the crowd streets of Soleanna, through the borders of the outer wall, and into the wilderness of the outside world. Silver was meditating on the floor, Storm was sleeping on the seat with Angel sleeping on his stomach, and Marine was watching the scenery pass by in awe. But Sonic had not moved from his place where he last saw the Kingdom Knights. The sadness refused to go away. Acting only on instinct, Sonic reached into the orange pouch and pulled out the blue crystal. He didn't understand it, but he raised the jewel to the window so that the sun could reflect off its surface.

"You know something." Sonic said and only Marine listened. "I'm sad...and I don't know why."

"Aw, we'll be back, mate." Marine said cheerfully. "Then we can see Knuckles and those guys again."

Marine was always the optimist of the group, which was a great thing to have. She could always see the brighter side of every situation and it made Sonic proud to know that he was the one to protect her happiness. Then all of a sudden, a brilliant flash of light exploded outside the train and the scenery was replaced by a wall of stars. They had left the world.

* * *

The final scene alternates to Sunset hill and the pinnacle of the hillside. For the briefest moment, the Ghost Train could be seen gliding across the railways before vanishing beyond the borders of the world. And watching them from above, a familiar character gripped him claws into the wooden fence out of misery and grievance.

"He's gone." Terro proclaimed.

"It's time to go."

The Deceptive Rouge released his grip, exposing the damage he unintentionally did to the wood. To his left, Kumori was sitting on the spaced bench with Lily standing directly behind her. Now on normal situations, Terro wouldn't have trusted her within ten feet of Kumori, but now was an exception. The Seekers had completed their mission and now there was one last piece of business to deal with.

"You don't have any place to go, do you?" Terro asked. "And you don't anywhere to go back, right? Such things don't exist for people like us – creatures that weren't meant to exist."

"That's right." Kumori nodded in acceptance. "There is no place for me. Still...I have some places I want to go..." She retrieved a card from her pocket, admiring portrait of Sonic and Scion together. "There are some people I want to see."

"You're not the only one." Terro stated, turning to Lily. "So, why are you letting us go? Wasn't it your job to eliminate us once Scion was back with Sonic."

"That was the original intention at first." Lily responded calmly. "But now ZoN wants to keep you two alive."

"Why?" Terro questioned suspiciously.

"She made a promise to Scion." Lily answered. "And she intends to keep it. And besides...I owe you." She directed that motion to Terro. "Now you two are free from both Order XIII and the Seekers. According to both sides, you're both dead."

"Thanks..." Terro said shortly.

The Deceptive Rogue exchanged untrusting glares with the enigmatic woman as he waved his hands to open the Corridors of Darkness. Kumori turned her focus to Lily for a short moment. She had an apologetic gleam in her eyes as she stood and the unknown creature merely patted her shoulder in reassurance. With the moment passed, Kumori raced into the dark portal and out of sight. Terro remained for a short while after, watching the woman for any signs of treachery, but ultimately decided to follow his charge. Lily remain solitary, remaining to watch how things played out.

* * *

**The newest adventure starts with unknown feelings. Where will Sonic and his friends up in this new world? Will they unknowingly follow under the Seeker's influence? Or does the Order have an unseen grip? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

I have decided that from this point, I will show entries from Zoan's Journal. Here's the first one.

**Zoan's Journal 2**

I have made a grave mistake. My desire to learn more of the darkness has turned from a simple sense of curiosity to a monumental disaster.

Spurred on by Mephiles' adoptive son, Realoc, I helped construct a massive laboratory in the basement of the castle.

Unbeknownst to me, my five "friends" then began collecting a large number of subjects on which to perform dangerous experiments into the "darkness of the heart."

As soon as I found out, I informed Mephiles at once and he ordered them not only to cease their studies, but to destroy the results of their research thus far.

What on earth have I done to the hearts of the five apprentices? While pursuing the mystery of the darkness of the heart, could I have unintentionally strayed them into its depths?

Yet I remain the most foolish of all, for having suggested these experiments.

Mortals are not meant to interfere in the depths of another's heart, no matter what our reasons for doing so...

Master Ix seems to disagree on this matter. He insisted the I should not forgo the darkness, but accept it as an a part of my essence – my heart

I was lost and confused.

Along my travels, I encountered a young prince named Jet who also wielded the legendary Keyblade such as myself. We both may have come from separate masters, but we learned the same.

He was very knowledgeable on many topics, and we deepened our friendship as we conversed companionably.

Upon his advice, I decided to review the data obtained at the castle basement lab.

That is when I discovered the "Mephiles Reports."

Had Mephiles fallen victim to the temptations of darkness as well?

I looked over many of his notes and discovered his research was founded off the information had provided by me and my fellow apprentices. And among these notes were the detailed analysis of a creature called the Heartless.

Had he come in contact with Nocturn?


	14. A Savior Reborn, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Twelve: A Savior Reborn, Part 2

The scene opens to a small world levitating aimlessly within the corridors of space and time. And it was at this time that the Ghost Train appeared in a flash of light, gliding along a road of invisible tracks. The enigmatic transport stopped directly in front of the land mass, allowing the Sonic Team to gander at the splendid structure in their presence. It was a tall tower made from a substance of pure silver with sapphire-blue stars scattered across the walls. A golden dragon statue was curled around the tower numerous times with its head resting at the highest point – Sonic was impressed by the style of the owner.

"Ooh, shiny." Marine said unconsciously.

"This looks like a long way from any world we've ever been to." Angel noted, staring out into the abyss of space that surrounded them. "There isn't another world within a hundred miles of this place."

"Ya think the train stopped at the right place?" Storm asked.

"I don't think we can check." Silver said pointedly.

The rest of the team looked to the Babylon mage before they noticed a powerful glow surrounding the Ghost Train. The railed transport was consumed by a flash of strong light before it vanished from the realm of existence entirely.

"There goes our ride." Sonic chuckled jokingly.

The Sonic Team shook their head at their leader. With no way of going back, the gang of off-worlders chose to move ahead and see who existed in this unknown tower and why they were brought to him. The walked across the landmass to the entrance of the Mysterious Tower, only to find that someone was already there, peeking into the doorway of the strange structure. None of the heroes could see his face, but they could hear him muttering to himself in a hushed tone, making his speech almost indistinguishable.

"Almost there..." The man muttered "Almost there..."

"Excuse me." Angel called politely. "But what's going on?"

"I sent some of my lackeys inside to see if the master of the tower is as big and tough as they say." The man cackled joyously. "Word is, he is a very powerful sorcerer, which would make him the perfect bodyguard for me. See, it doesn't matter how tough he is – once he's a Heartless, he'll do exactly as I say!"

"A Heartless?!" Storm exclaimed.

"That's right." The man said wickedly. "The creatures born from the darkness of people's hearts. Why, with all those Heartless and his side, my dear colleague Black Doom is going to conquer everything!" The Sonic Team looked at each other, smiling jokingly. "And since I have a debt to pay, I am going to other worlds to collect an army of Heartless, special for him." He suddenly realized something. "Why I am talking to you runts anyway? Go on, scram! I'm behind schedule as it is!"

"You oughta find something nice to do." Marine commented.

"Says who?" The man glowered as he turned. But once he caught sight of Silver and Storm, he screamed. "Ahh! You two!"

"Eggman!!" Silver and Storm shouted surprisingly.

The other three members of the Sonic Team were lost and confused as they looked over the one called Eggman. His name was properly suited to him given his egg-shaped body. He was a large human with a bald head and a very bushy orange mustache. He wore a long crimson-red jacket with golden cuffs and pockets, black pants with grey fasteners at the legs, giving them the appearance of boots, a pair of white gloves, a long white scarf around his neck, a pair of silver-grey goggles, and ocean-blue glasses over his eyes. Judging by the glares from Silver and Storm, this man wasn't a friendly character.

"What are you two nimrods doing here?!" Eggman snapped.

"We should be asking you the same thing." Silver said leering.

"You know this guy?" Sonic asked curiously.

"You bet we do." Storm nodded. "Eggman has been causing trouble to Babylon Garden for ages, but we never had any proof. But one da, the king found out about Eggman's latest scheme and banished him into another dimension. I wonder how he escaped."

"So you want to now how, eh?" Eggman grinned superiorly. "Given my superior intellect, I would have found a way in due time. But Black Doom made it much easier and set me free in exchange for a little assistance." He pointed out the Keyblade Master. "And your world – no, all worlds – are going to belong to the brilliant Dr. Eggman! Because with Black Doom's helpful assistance, conquering them will be a breeze."

"Black Doo, huh?" Sonic laughed; the other joined him.

"What are you laughing at?!" Eggman growled furiously. "Why, with Black Doom's power..."

"Black Doom's finished." Angel answered giggling. "We finished him off over a year ago. It's amazing you're only figuring this out now."

"O-of course I know!" Eggman stammered defiantly. "I can't believe Black Doom would fall at the hands of a group of brainless animals!" Angel turned her head in a dignified fashion. "You won't get away with this! Heartless Squad! Round Up!"

And upon the command of the round human, the shade of the trees took on a life of their own and rose from the ground with their shape becoming more apparent. They resembled enlarge insects with bulging yellow eyes and a set of crooked antenna. Sonic smiled excitedly and summoned his Keyblade the moment the Shadow Heartless made their appearance.

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Sonic said eagerly.

The Sonic Team may not have stood a chance against the silver creatures, but they had plenty of experience battling Heartless. And going against a small group of Shadows, the battle really didn't take long. Sonic jumped into the air and landed into the center of the Heartless circle, twirling his Keyblade into a singular motion. He already took out four Heartless in one instant while the rest of his took care of the remains. Silver clasped his hands together, forming the sea of fire, and expelled a large fireball from his throat to extinguish six Heartless at one time. Marine back-flipped with expert grace several feet away from the Shadow and closed her fists to gain the familiar emerald-green glow. With perfect marksmanship, she took out every Shadow that approached her. Angel and Storm were the ultimate tag-team of the group. Given Storm's amazing endurance, Angel's swift agility, and both of their super strength factors, the dynamic duo crushed the Shadow with just their hands. Eggman staggered backwards frightfully as Sonic slashed his fabled weapon over the head of his last soldier.

"Got any more?" Sonic asked innocently. "I really need the practice."

"Just you wait!" Eggman snapped. "Nobody, and I do mean nobody, messes with the brilliant Dr. Eggman!"

"So 'brilliant' Eggman..." Sonic called casually. "Who lives in this tower, anyway?"

"Oh, you don't know, eh?" Eggman sniggered. "Well, this tower belongs to Nyrox. Of course, he's probably a Heartless by now."

"Master Nyrox lives here?!" Silver screamed joyously.

Sonic had never seen his teacher so happy since he betrayed Espio at Hollow Bastion after revealing his plot. Before the cobalt hedgehog was given a chase to ask, Silver had already dashed through the double doors and escaped into the inner sanctuary. Sonic looked back to Storm since he was the only one left with an explanation.

"Master Nyrox is Silver and Shahra's teacher." Storm stated. "He's also the one that taught the king how to wield the Keyblade a long time ago."

"Wow, he sounds powerful." Sonic said awestruck. "I've got to meet him."

And with that, the remaining four members of the Sonic Team followed the Babylon mage into the depths of the Mysterious Tower. They had promptly ignored Eggman, who was staring at the backs of the heroes with his mouth agape. The poor doctor knew he had been insulted in the highest degree and stomped around like a child throwing a tantrum.

* * *

The scene alternates to the inner chambers of the Mysterious Tower as Silver led the pack through the cylinder structure. The entrance hall was only a round room with a staircase that led to the higher reaches of the castle. And while his master took of running, Sonic stayed momentarily behind to admire the murals painted along the walls. A sea of stars covered every surface with dragon actually moving across the surface, nuzzling or growling to one another when meeting.

"This Nyrox guy really loves dragons." Sonic commented after following his teacher.

"That's Master Nyrox to you, Sonic." Silver stated, seemingly insulted. "The dragon represents everlasting magic and undefeatable strength. It is the symbol that represents Master Nyrox."

"You really admire him, don't you?" Angel asked.

"Master Nyrox found me on the streets in an unknown world and raised me." Silver explained heartfelt. "I became his student at the same time Shahra requested to become his apprentice. Master Nyrox was more than my teacher, he was my father."

Sonic could very well understand why Silver was so committed to praise his teacher. Sonic had only learned a year ago that he was the son of two Keyblade Masters that came before him: Zoan and Aleena. He had learned that his mother had perished during an unknown battle and visited her grave in Hollow Bastion. He also learned from his fight against Duskmon that Zoan was still alive, wondering somewhere between the worlds. Sonic could understand Silver's feelings. The Sonic Team climbed the Mysterious Tower until they stopped at a doorway with a brilliant-white star printed on the face of the wood. Silver cautiously crept through the door with the rest of the team following, entering an unknown chamber. It was very much like the rest of the tower, but with star statues glowing at a few points around the room and a single door on the opposite end.

"So where's this Nyrox bloke?" Marine asked.

"It's _Master_ Nyrox!" Silver snapped; Marine jumped into Sonic's arms in fright. "And this isn't his chamber, this is only the halfway point. If I know Master Nyrox, he will be at the highest point of the tower."

"He must really love walking." Sonic said, dropping Marine on the floor. "Come on, isn't there supposed to be some kind of spell that can get us up there. This is getting so boring that I actually wish the Heartless were here."

Ask and ye shall receive. A swarm of Shadow Heartless emerged from the darkness given off by the star statues, led into battle by another familiar Heartless. A beastly soldier garbed in knightly armor and a clanking helmet with the Heartless emblem present on his chest: a black heart with crossed thorns. The Soldier Heartless hissed at the Keyblade Master from beneath his helmet and as he summoned the fabled weapon to his hands.

"You were saying?" Storm grumbled.

"Hey, at least it's better than walking." Sonic smirked.

"**Ugh...what happened?**" A voice in Sonic's head moaned.

"_Dark, is that you?_" Sonic thought interestingly, pushing a Heartless away at the moment. "_Looks like someone finally decided to wake up._"

"**I don't remember what happened.**" Dark Sonic proclaimed tiredly. "**One moment we were facing Mephiles at Kingdom Hearts, the next I find you throwing off a bunch of Shadow in who-knows-where.**"

"_I'm just as lost as you, pal._" Sonic replied, raising his Keyblade to block off a soldier's foot. "_Can we talk about this some other time. I'm kinda in the middle of something._"

The Heartless persona disconnected from Sonic's mind for a while, obviously trying to regain his strength. At least the cobalt hedgehog could feel safe knowing that everyone on the team was ok. And back to the battle at hand, Sonic faced off against the only Soldier Heartless in the group while the rest of his team took out the Shadows by their own means. The Soldier was a tricky customer as he was continually twirling through the air, preventing Sonic to gain a direct shot. And on one occasion when he wasn't looking, the Soldier twisted over his shoulder and left behind a small cut as he foot sliced through the skin. The Soldier landed gracefully and looked back to the Keyblade Master, who brushed off the minuscule wound. The Soldier crouched low to the ground and kicked off with its signature spinning attack. But much to Sonic own amazement, he was unexpectedly prepared this time. For reasons unknown, Sonic twirled backwards away from the Soldier's line of fire, touched the floor, and propelled back to the Soldier with his Keyblade held outwards. The Soldier had landed and turned at the very moment Sonic's Keyblade crossed over its neckline, decapitating the shadow beast. The helmet dropped to the floor with a loud clank before evaporating into darkness with the rest of its body. Sonic stared at his Keyblade in awe.

"_What was that?_" Sonic thought surprisingly. "_I was never that athletic before._"

"**I believe it's called a reaction command.**" Dark Sonic explained. "**You heart memorizes certain techniques and mental reaction to protect the vessel. Your heart will learn more reaction commands as you continue on your journey and depending on the situation.**"

"_Looks like you learn something new every day._" Sonic chuckled. "_Welcome back, Dark._"

"**Good to be back, rodent.**" Dark Sonic sniggered.

After eliminating the Heartless threat, the group met in the center of the room, perfectly unharmed. But Angel seemed to be growling under her breath and kicked her feet against the floor in frustration.

"This isn't right." Angel stated. "Heartless here, Heartless there, Heartless everywhere. How can they even still exist? Didn't we close the Door to Darkness after beating Mephiles."

"You're right." Silver nodded. "It is a bit unusual. Perhaps Master Nyrox can provide some answers to this situation."

The Sonic Team looked back to the door across the room, crossing the threshold after collecting themselves. This left Sonic with much to think about. If they did close the Door to Darkness with King Jet, why were the Heartless still causing trouble in the real world? Was it possible that the Heartless were secretly working with those silver creatures and somehow found a way to break through the barrier? That would mean that the Keyblade Master was needed again. Would it take another year before Sonic finally returned home. The cobalt hedgehog nearly bumped into Storm and fell back down the stairs when the group came to a sudden halt outside a singular door. There was no print on the door face, but the Keyblade Master could clearly sense the unlimited power behind it – it's no wonder Silver was so hesitant to open it. The group walked into the room one-by-one and Sonic took this opportunity to investigate the room. It was a very simple place with a large bookshelf, a pair of open windows, a personal desk, a throne-like chair, and the usual starry wall.

"Master Nyrox, it's an honor to be in your presence again." Silver said respectfully; he and Storm bowed simultaneously.

Sonic snapped his attention back to the desk, where he finally confronted the fabled Nyrox. To Sonic's eyes, the ultimate master was not nearly as old as he had expected. The eyes of wisdom and age betrayed Nyrox's youthful body. He was a silver-grey fox with white lines falling from his eyes. He wore a simple attire consisting of black, fingerless gloves, simple black boots, a metal chain around his waist, and a crimson-red coat with a golden dragon printed on the back. The ultimate master nodded in acceptance to his student's greeting.

"Hiya, mate!" Marine waved casually.

"Marine! Show some respect!" Silver snapped.

"That is quite all right, Silver." Nyrox said lightly. His eyes roamed over the heroes and eventually stopped at the cobalt hedgehog. "So, you are Sonic. It's funny how much you look like your father, but you have the innocence of your mother's eyes."

"You knew my mom and dad?!" Sonic exclaimed shockingly, shoving his team away.

"**Sonic, don't be so rude.**" Dark Sonic scolded.

"I had the pleasure of meeting them and Nocturn on certain occasions." Nyrox answered softly, closing his fingers together. "But this is not the time to reminisce on ancient times. Have you see King Jet yet?"

"Yes, we did, Master." Storm nodded. "But we didn't have the chance to talk to him."

"Highly understandable." Nyrox stated. "The king has been quite busy of late. Therefore, it would seem that the task of instructing you falls upon my shoulders. You have a perilous journey ahead of you – must worse than the ones of previous times. You must be prepared."

"You mean...we have to go on another quest?" Sonic said disappointed. "I was looking forward to finding my friend Espio, so we could go back to the Islands."

"Yes, I know." Nyrox nodded understandably. "However, everything in your journey, Sonic, is connected. Whether you will find your way home to the Islands, whether you will return alone or with your friend, and whether or not the Islands will still be there. And the key that connects them all is you, Sonic."

"I'm...the key?" Sonic said questionable; he summoned the Keyblade with a sudden interest.

"Chosen wielder of the Keyblade!" Nyrox said mystically. "You are the key that will open the Door to Light and save those unfortunate souls!" Sonic narrowed his eyes with focus and nodded in acceptance to his destiny. "Now, it is time we discuss the enemies you will surely encounter."

"I've actually got a question about that." Angel said, waving her hand. "How come the Heartless are still running around?"

"Your past endeavors did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the great darkness." Nyrox explained seriously. "However, the Heartless are darkness made real. And darkness lingers in every heart." He rested against his chair. "The Heartless are fewer, but while darkness exists in a single heart, it will be difficult to eliminate them."

"Then that just means if everyone's heart was full of light, the Heartless would disappear." Storm stated happily; the other nodded joyously at the thought.

"That day can never come." Nyrox proclaimed, spearing their hope. "Light and darkness exist as one whole entity. Life cannot exist without the darkness, just as it can't survive without the light. Now it is time we speak of the enemies you will encounter." He waved his hand to the side, summoning an image of Silver. The Sonic Team watch for a moment and jumped back in shock as the Babylon Mystic was consumed by darkness and transformed into a Shadow. "If one such as you, Silver, yields to the darkness in their heart, they too will become a Heartless. But you know this."

"Why'd it have to be me." Silver moaned in despair as his teammate responded to the master.

"The heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts." Nyrox continued darkly. "Never let your guard down! Now then..." He waved his hand again, summoning a Dusk to the Shadow's side. "At times, if someone with a strong heart and will – evil or good – becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own." The Heartless image vanished. "An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away – a spirit that goes on, even as its body fades from existence. For you see, Nobodies do not truly exist. Nobodies may seem to have feelings, but this is a ruse – they only pretend to have hearts. You must not be deceived!"

"Nobodies..." Sonic murmured. "They don't exist..."

The image of the Dusk vanished and the images of three men in Black Cloaks appeared behind the group. Remembering them from Hollow Bastion a year ago, Sonic nearly pulled his Keyblade on them before remembering they weren't real. And of all of them, Duskmon was the one Sonic remembered in particular.

"I understand that you have encountered these creatures before." Nyrox stated; the heroes nodded. "The beings you see before you are a different form of Nobodies. These powerful Nobodies have formed a group called Order XIII – they command the lesser Nobodies. But thanks to recent efforts, the Order's number has dwindled by a large amount."

"What happened?" Marine asked curiously.

"That is a tale for another time." Nyrox responded. "While Heartless react on instinct, Nobodies function in a higher manner. They can think and plan. And it seems they are working towards a goal. What that goal is, I do not know." The heroes glanced at one another nervously. "The king sensed the danger and journeyed forth to fight it. He found the dark realm's Keyblade and with it, closed the door. Now he is traveling from world to world, fight the Heartless as he seeks the answer to the riddle of the Nobodies and Order XIII."

"Then I guess we better find the king first!" Sonic said confidently as the images vanished.

"But where could he be?" Silver questioned.

Well, we won't know until we look." Storm smiled.

"Yeah." Sonic nodded eagerly. "And the king must know where Espio is, cause the two of them were together in the Realm of Darkness when we closed the door."

"Before you go, you will need some suitable traveling cloths." Nyrox laughed at their embarrassment. "Those look a bit too small for you." He waved his hand to a side door, which the others hadn't noticed until now. "Through there, you will find twin brothers. If you ask, they will create appropriate garments for you."

"Wow, Sonic, you sure are growing fast." Storm said pointedly.

"I'm not the only one." Sonic laughed.

The group bowed their heads in respect to the ancient master, the group pushed through the doorway and enter a small room on the side. It was round and definitely suitable for collecting garments as the only things present were a wardrobe and a set of mirrors hanging on the wall. Sonic wondered why they were covered. And in the center of the room, the twin brothers were chatting animatedly with each other until they noticed their sudden guests. To nobody's surprise, the twin brothers were actually small dragons with a different structure and skin tone. The first of the brothers was red/black scaled dragon with two horizontal horns and a row of phantasmal tendrils reaching down its spine. The second was a pure-white scaled dragon with eight angel wings and innocent blue eyes. The red dragon slipped off the ground and slithered closer to inspect their new guests.

"Look who it is, Light Gaia." The dark dragon said pleasingly. "Sonic and his friends have finally arrived."

"Dark Gaia and I have been waiting for you for a while." Light Gaia stated, hovering over the team's head. "Hmm...It looks like they could do with a bit of a wardrobe upgrade and perhaps a few weapons to focus their individual abilities."

"You take care of the designing, brother." Dark Gaia said to his counterpart. "And I'll take care of the weapons work. I dear say that you are a terrible blacksmith."

It's so true." Light Gaia nodded, slithering close to Sonic's shoulder. The twin dragon shoved the Keyblade Master away and set their sights back to the team. "You just stay there for a while, Sonic. We have a special project in mind for you."

Sonic cocked his head in confusion, but followed his instructions and stood back for the twin dragons to do their work. The brothers of light and darkness nodded to one another and raised their claws to the ceiling, summon a mass of their particular energies. The Sonic Team watched them for a short moment before suddenly being zapped by the mixed rays created by the Gaia brothers. Sonic was prepared to throttle the small dragons when he noticed that the rest of his team emerged from the rays of light and darkness, unharmed and with a new look to boot.

Silver's mane was finally tamed and his quills were more sleek than usual in addition to his new clothing. He wore dark-blue boots with turquoise straps and golden braces, his standards gloves and cuffs, and a black leather belt with a silver box strapped to his him. But what impressed him the most was the silver staff with the golden dragon head at the pinnacle and its tails wrapping around the main part of the staff.

Storm's newest appearance was almost miraculous. His excess body fat had been completely evaporated, leaving him with only pure muscle and bone. He wore bright yellow shoes with hard metal soles and black straps running across, a yellow bomber jacket completely unzipped to reveal his bulging abs, and a silver snake pendent. Storm was holding a magnificent round shield from the hardest metal with the symbol of Babylon Garden on the face.

Angel's appearance hadn't changed as much as the others. The only significant difference was that her wild fur was finally tame and that she wore a belt with twin holsters on either side. Angel seemed generally disappointed until she noticed that he holsters were holding a pair of silver daggers with golden hilts.

And when Sonic looked over to Marine, an overwhelming sense of pride filled his heart. The rascally raccoon had her hair tied into a pony tail that reach to the back of her neck and her scars were less visible than they once were. She was wearing a silken black shirt beneath an emerald-green vest, a pair of slender black pants with a silver crown on the pant legs, a pair of white gloves, and white/green sneakers. Her weapon of choice was actually a small green orb, which Sonic suspected was more valuable than he would imagine.

"So, how do I look, mate?" Marine asked, posing for the Keyblade Master.

"Like a talkative tree." Sonic said jokingly; Marine facefaulted.

"And now for you, big boy." Dark Gaia said interestingly. He and his twin brother formed a circle around the Keyblade Master looking at the cobalt hedgehog from every angle. "Hmm...Interesting energy frequency and very nimble."

"He appears to be great with speed, but his strength is also impressive, brother." Light Gaia commented. The dragon twins finally stopped circling him and resting in front of their subject. "I think he might be worthy enough to accept the gift."

"I agree, brother." Dark Gaia nodded.

"Um...what gift?" Sonic asked, scratching his head in confusion.

The mischievous dragons smirked. And before the Keyblade Master was given the chance to react to the situation, Light and Dark Gaia sharply stabbed their hands forward and expelled an equal amount of light and dark energy into hedgehog's heart. The Sonic Team watched in awe at the explosive display as Sonic emerged moments later from the mixture of energies. Sonic stood tall and proud with his quills trimmed down to their normal appearance and with the Keyblade present. His garments included a pair of red/white boots with white straps, a pair of white gloves restricted by metal bracelets, two black pouches were strapped to either side his waist by a black belt, a silver-crown necklace, and green-lensed sunglasses above his eyes. The cobalt hedgehog looked down and whistled impressively.

"This is awesome." Sonic laughed.

"And it's only going to get better." Light Gaia said promising. He closed his hands into a circle and created an orb of red light. "Take the orb and watch what happens."

The cobalt hedgehog knew he could trust the dragons so far and clenched the glowing sphere in his hands. What happened next was completely beyond what he would have expected. His chest gave a sudden lurched and lashed him directly into the air and Storm mimicked the same motion. The two collided in midair and exploded in a ray of red light, forcing the heroes to cover their eyes. The group was able to look when Sonic touched back to the ground and their mouths nearly dropped with him. Sonic's fur had transformed to a cherry-red color with a fleur-de-lis on his shoulders and forelegs, but that was not what attracted their attention. In Sonic's left hand was a Keyblade with a navy-blue base decorated with white stars with a golden star at the teeth, two shooting stars acting as the hand guard, and golden star acting as the Keychain.

"When could Sonic use two Keyblade?!" Angel screamed shockingly. "And what happened to Storm?!"

"Sonic has activated a special ability called the Drive Form." Dark Gaia explained. "It allows him to fuse with others to grant him greater powers, such as two Keyblades. This one is called the Valor Form."

"Your mission is going to be twice as hard as the last." Light Gaia proclaimed. "You'll need to be prepared. There are other Drive Forms as well, but you'll have to find those out on your own."

"We can't thank you enough." Sonic said appreciatively, deactivating his Drive Form.

"There's something else we're supposed to tell you." Dark Gaia said quickly. "Master Nyrox has prepared one last gift for you before you leave. He should be waiting back in the room behind you."

"Thanks for everything." Silver said as he and the team bowed respectfully.

And with that, the Sonic Team turned on their heels and walked back into the other room. But beyond their notice, a dark-purple squid with a single red eye was watching the scene from above. Back in Nyrox's chamber, the ancient master was standing close to the wall with five new gifts lined alongside it. They were board, each with a different style and structure. One was blue with white wisps and a silver base, another was light-purple with a grey trimming, the next was brilliant-yellow with a chrome center, the following was a small pink board with a white 'V' at the nose, and the last was a green/blue board in a color mixture.

"Extreme Gear!" Storm cheered, hugging his board close.

"The king prepared these beforehand." Nyrox explained to the stupefied students. "He most likely thought they would come in handy."

"That's great, but we have a problem." Silver said disappointedly. "The walls between words are closed, so how are we going to get through them?"

"That is very true." Nyrox nodded. "Because of your previous endeavors, the world have returned to their original states. Under normal circumstances, that would mean the paths between them have disappeared. However, if what the king suspects is true, the world have prepared new pathways for you to travel. These pathways may be utilized by unlocking special gates. How these gates are opened, I do not know. However, the Keyblade will serve as your guide. When a beam of light radiates from the Keyblade, return to the stars." He sighed heavily and stared out the window. "Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach, they nonetheless remain connected by invisible ties. As do our hearts."

"Our hearts are connected." Sonic murmured.

"That is corrected." Nyrox nodded smiling. "But be warned. As you proceed, the Heartless and Nobodies will be using their own paths: Corridors of Darkness, to travel from world to world. They may be attempting to link these dark pathways to the gates between worlds."

"Hey! That's no fair!" Marine shouted childishly.

"Now then, that is all the information I can give you." Nyrox stated. "Go forth and bring peace to the worlds. Everyone is waiting."

"Yes, sir!" The Sonic Team shouted in salute.

With nothing left to say each member of the Sonic Team took their individual Extreme Gears and exited through the doorway. Nyrox remained close to his window, waiting patiently until the Keyblade Master and his friends took off into the stars towards their next destination. Nyrox smiled in appreciation. Sonic looked so much like his father.

* * *

The scene returns to the second room just off to the side of Nyrox's chamber, where Light and Dark Gaia were cleaning the room. The twin dragons were exhausted after distributing their powers to the Sonic Team and needed a long rest. This, however, was not the opportunity. When they least expected it, a dirty cloth dropped to the ground and a float squid monster peered at the dragons before slithering under the cloak.

"Brother, what is that?" Light Gaia asked. "Haven't we seen this garment before?"

"Yes, but I wonder where..." Dark Gaia murmured softly.

"Wait a minute!" Light Gaia exclaimed. "It's Bla...!"

"No! We can't remember his name!" Dark Gaia shouted hysterically, closing his brother's mouth. "He was nothing more than a monster of pure evil!"

Brother, the memories are coming back!" Light Gaia shouted hopelessly. "What do we do, brother?!"

"We have to warn Master Nyrox immediately!" Dark Gaia screamed.

But by that time, it was already too late. The dirty cloth was rising off the ground and slowly began to develop a life of its own. The dirty robe also gained a set of jewel in a circle around the chest and a golden chain hanging off the shoulders. The monster within them was black as the darkness itself with no legs to support it, demonic claws, two crimson-red horizontal horns, and three of piercing-red eyes that could kill a man with a simple gaze. While Dark Gaia slither back into the previous chamber, Light Gaia remained long enough to announce the return of a great evil.

"Black Doom!" Light Gaia yelled.

And the white dragon vanished. The former Higher Power chuckled malevolently while flexing his newly reformed hand with his three eyes taking in the surroundings. The alien overlord's laugh grew into a thunderous cackle as his plans have finally come in fruition – Black Doom was reborn.

* * *

**The heroes set of on a new quest with greater consequences. Will the Sonic Team defeat this newest threat? Will Black Doom return for vengeance? And will the Order provide to be Sonic's most lethal threat? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	15. Hollow Returns

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Fourteen: Hollow Returns

Shortly breaching the outer barrier of Soleanna's atmosphere, the Sonic Team once again found themselves staring into the depths of space. If there was one thing Sonic missed about the adventures, it was traveling through the stars on Extreme Gear. The cobalt hedgehog was so excited that he performed a triple back flip and landing safely on his Extreme Gear without losing his posture – Angel commented on his showoff attitude. But at the moment, a loud beeping sound was heard echoing from the container Silver carried against his hip. The Babylon mystic opened the metallic storage and retrieved what appeared to be a video screen, which two familiar engineers appeared.

"Hey, Silver!!" Charmy waved overexcited. "What's happening?!"

"Charmy, Vector, aren't you guys a sight for sore eyes." Silver chuckled silently. "So what's going on?"

"We were gonna ask you the same thing." Vector said, shoving Charmy out of the way. "We've been trying to contact you for over a year and the five of you just vanish off the face of the universe. Blaze was really upset."

"Just tell her we have been busy." Silver said with genuine concern. "Unfortunately, we've just learned that there is another threat out there that's also planning something evil and we need to stop them. Can you give us coordinates to the nearest world?"

"It's not going to be easy." Vector said thoughtfully. "After you guys closed that big door, you pretty much sealed most of the roads between the worlds. It could take a few hours at the most, so..."

"Found one!" Charmy piped cheerfully. The little bee unknowingly slammed his head into Vector's chin, slamming the gator's mouth shut over his tongue. "The closest world is only a few minutes away from you. Happy flying!!"

Judging by the evil glare given off by the large croc, Silver thought it was a good idea to switch the feed before things got violent. The Babylon mystic switched the screen to a small map of the universe that only showed two worlds: Soleanna and a new world. Drawn in by curiosity, the rest of the team moved closer for a better look – Silver was cramped by the lack of personal space.

"Only one?" Sonic moaned. "That won't do us any good."

"Wait a minute!" Angel exclaimed cheerfully. "I think it's a world we know!"

Sonic wasn't certain why, but his heart made a sudden leap when he inspected the picture closely. The largest structure of the world was a white castle that seemed to be undergoing some type of heavy construction. With their route set, the group of four raced south in the direction of the new, yet familiar, world and landed within four minutes time.

* * *

The scene alternates the surface of the new world, but far beyond the boundaries set up in the nearby city. The Dark Depths was the site where Aleena's helmet and grave could be found, and beyond that was the Villain's Vail – a five-pointed castle comprised of unknown materials. It was hear that Eggman silently motioned into the central chamber, peeking around the walls in equal parts caution and fear.

"Black Doom! Black Doom!" Eggman called, but met with no response. "Well, this is just great! I'm only gone for a year and I found that three-eyed freak killed off by those two nimrods and a pack of wild rodents!" While he continued his rant, the egg-shaped doctor never noticed the flash of light at the threshold. "It was probably for the best anyway! That molten buffoon didn't have the brains to lead an army! And once I completely control the Heartless..."

"Molten buffoon, am I?" A dark voice growled.

Eggman stiffened at the sound. Though out of hesitation, the human scientist turned on his heels, coming face-to-face with his three-eyed master.

The scene moves to a location closer the city, where the monumental castle could be seen from a closer vantage point. The town surrounding the colossal structure seemed relatively new and crafted in a very sloppy manner. Homes and shops were created from mostly wood and built without any proper planning, which was obvious by how the boards commonly overlapping each other. But despite the woebegone appearance of their town, the people seemed happy than they have been in years. And while the market was packed with their daily merchants and customers, no one noticed five creatures on flying boards gliding over their heads, stopping behind the nearest item shop. After making sure their Gears were placed safely, the Sonic Team took a step closer to inspect the castle in the heart of town. The memories of his last adventure to this land returned to the Keyblade Master with a sharp jolt.

"No way..." Sonic said, not knowing the words to express how he felt.

"**That's right, Sonic.**" Dark Sonic chuckled. "**Let me be the first to say welcome home.**"

* * *

**---Hollow Bastion---**

"I can't believe I'm back home." Sonic said happily. "Well, my original home at least."

"This place looks really different from last time." Storm said nostalgically. "I wonder how Metal and the others are doing."

"Why don't we ask them?" Marine asked cluelessly, pointing to the rooftops. The Sonic looked up for a brief moment before a pair of Soldier Heartless vanished into the darkness. "Looks like those blokes don't know when to take a vacation."

"If the Heartless are here, I'm willing to bet Eggman is, too." Sonic stated exasperatedly. "Come on, guys. We've got some cleanup detail to do."

The team was obviously irritable of the thought that Heartless would spoil their return, but their sense of duty always came before their enjoyment. Sonic and his friends walked around the accessory shop, getting a better description of the town's market square, if one would call it such. It actuality, there were only four shops available: the accessory shop, the blacksmith, the food shop, and a place that sold ice cream. But despite this, the square was crowded with many happy townsmen, who had suddenly become interested in the Keyblade Master. Adults were whispering to one another excitedly, girls were giggling senselessly, and children were staring at him in awe. The Sonic Team was just as confused as their leader until a female squirrel with vibrant-red hair broke from her group and confronted the hero.

"Are you Sonic the Hedgehog?" The squirrel asked hopefully.

"Uh...yeah." Sonic nodded confused.

"My name is Sally and I'm a huge fan!" Sally shouted eagerly, wringing the hedgehog's hand tightly. "Everyone knows about the story of how you and your friends defeated Black Doom and freed our home from the Heartless! I never thought I would ever get the chance to actually meet you! And I have to say, you are much more handsome than what Metal descried you."

"Heh! Thanks." Sonic smiled embarrassingly; Marine scowled darkly at the squirrel.

"If you're not busy, maybe I could take on a tour around town." Sally offered, ignoring the others. "Hollow Bastion has changed a lot since you last visited. Maybe we could visit the Bailey – it has a perfect view of the Great Maw – or maybe I could show you the inside of the new castle."

"That's a tempting offer, but I can't right now." Sonic stated. Sally looked greatly disappointed and Sonic was always soft when it came to girls. "B-but maybe some other time! It's just a little mission and taking care of a few Heartless. Nothing big."

"**Smooth.**" Dark Sonic laughed.

"Ok." Sally nodded. "Good luck."

Before running away, Sally gave Sonic a quick peak on the cheek before dashing back to her friends, giggle madly. Sonic, who didn't have much experience with girls that were attracted to him – not counting Midna – turned a bright shade of red. Marine, on the other hand, was red with anger as she glared at the back of Sally's fleeting head, most likely hoping her stare would pierce her skull. The rest of the crew shook their heads at the mishap as Angel and Storm respectively pushed Marine and Sonic along the road with Silver leading the pack. The crew walked down a row of steps, leading directly into the neighborhood distinct. Like the rest of Hollow Bastion, this area was mostly made from brick and wood without any actually planning that went into building the town. After finally getting over his embarrassing experience, Sonic continued to walk with a big grin on his face.

"You hear that, guys." Sonic smiled brightly. "I'm a celebrity."

"The true path to being a hero is humility." Silver stated blandly.

"Aw, you're just jealous that I'm famous." Sonic laughed. "Even that Sally girl knows who I am. I'll bet I even have my own fan club."

"**It's amazing I can fit in here with you big ego.**" Dark Sonic commented; Sonic scolded.

"I don't like her." Marine spat shortly.

The senior members of the Sonic Team stared at the youngest recruit with surprised curiosity. Marine was usually a big ball of cheerful energy – it was rare to ever see her without a smile or yelling at the top of her lungs. But their attention was quickly redirected as a sphere of holographic light appeared and disappeared before anyone had a chance to see it perfectly. The same thing happened twice afterwards, this time popping up at random directions.

"Hey, what's that?" Storm question.

"That would be the town defense mechanism!" A young voice answered.

The Sonic Team snapped their heads back up and cheered with joy as they recognized the sweet sounds of their friend. Standing over the rooftops was Metal's apprentice, Cream the Rabbit. She had already grown a few inches, her fur was smooth and silky, and burning-orange hair was finally emerging from her head. She wore a bright orange, sleeveless shirt with a white line around the hem and a golden star on the chest, which matched her orange shorts. She also had orange/yellow running shoes, white gloves held in place by black bands, and an orange visor. The rabbit warrior waved cheerfully to the crew, who returned the gestured.

"Great to see ya, Cream." Angel greeted.

"Haven't se you in a..."Cream said, slowly trailing off with a shocked expression. "Sonic, behind you!"

Acting on Cream's call, Sonic summoned the Keyblade to his hand and slashed backwards, just barely missing the stealthy Dusk. As the Nobody soldier slithered safely to the side, nine others of its kind emerged from the ground in a partial wave of silver/grey energy.

"Looks like these guys are coming along for the ride." Sonic smirked confidently.

"They may have surprised us last time, but we're prepared for them." Silver said as the group drew their weapons. "Let's see how well Light and Dark Gaia's tool work."

The Nobodies hissed and spat, stretching from place to place with their contorted limbs. With a sudden twitched, one of the Dusks lunged forward and swiped their thinned hands across the air. But just as Silver said, they were better prepared this time. Sonic effortlessly kicked aside the Dusk's hand and stabbed his Keyblade through the chest where it heart once was, watching the silver beast vanish in a flash of white light. The battle was set off from that point. Silver jumped between two Dusks and swung his dragon staff overhead, watching as the silver soldiers easily dodged. The Babylon Mystic tried to counter with a swift kick, but his target on the left grabbed his ankle and twisted him to the side. Just as the silver monsters loomed overhead, Silver threw out the dragon head of his staff and incinerated them with a powerful torrent of flames. Storm's defensive abilities were only improved by his new shield as he reflected three attacking Dusks at once and slammed them into the wall, crushing them into dust. Angel whipped her twin daggers from her holster, spinning them in her hands as one of the silver soldiers stretched across the wall. The pink experiment smirked and tossed one of her weapons forward, watching calculative as the Dusk moved to avoid it. After predicting the Dusk's next move, Angel tossed the twin knife and nailed its mark through the soldier's forehead. And then Marine was left to deal with two Dusks of her own. The rascally raccoon tried throwing the green orb at first, but found that to be relatively useless. And as the Dusk attacked, Marine instinctively threw her hands out, summoning a slew of green, glowing arrows that speared the Nobodies from every part.

"Hey, that's neat." Marine grinned.

"And then there was one." Sonic said ominously; the group stared down at the cornered Dusk. "So, who wants to take last one?"

"I didn't get enough action, so I'll take 'em." Angel said eagerly, cracking her knuckles. But before she even had a chance to pick up her weapons, the glowing sphere from earlier appeared and vaporized the Dusk instantly. "Or maybe not."

"Well, at least the defense system works." Cream commented, jumped down to greet them. "Of course, I knew you guys could handle it. I see you haven't lost your edge."

"What'd ya expect?" Sonic said pridefully. "Looks like the town is getting back on its feet."

"Well, what did you expect?" Cream said jokingly.

"How are the others, mate?" Marine asked; her smile returned.

"Everything's going great." Cream said happily. "Metal finally gave me a chance to show my skills in the Budokai Tournament and I came in second place after fighting Uub. Man, that guy is getting strong everyday."

"I'm happy for you." Sonic said earnestly. "But, have you seen the king or Espio running around?"

"Nope." Cream said nonchalantly as she walked away; Sonic hanged his head in defeat. "But I had a feeling we would be seeing you guys again."

"Yeah, I remember." Sonic said, forcing his voice deeper. "We may never meet again, but we will never forget each other."

"Is that supposed to be Metal?" Cream laughed; Sonic scratched his head embarrassingly. "You're terrible. Try sticking to being the Keyblade Master. Hey, we should all head over to Shahra's house. The whole gang is using the place as a base of operations." Without warning, she took off. "Try to keep up, slow pokes!"

"Who're you calling slow?!" Sonic laughed

"**As if you haven't realized it yet.**" Dark Sonic commented.

As if it wasn't enough to keep up with a collected Sonic, chasing an excited Sonic was next to impossible for the rest of his team. The cobalt hedgehog had managed to catch up the young apprentice, but Cream wasn't about to make things easy for him. As she approached a dead-end alley, Sonic screeched to a halt while Cream just continued to run ahead. And much to his amazement, Cream began dashing vertically up the wall as if this was a simple track run. Sonic was even more anxious. The Cobalt hedgehog used the wall on either side of his to jump up to the rooftops and followed her, leaving his team panting tiredly on the street. Sonic and Cream hopped along the wooden foundations of the rooftops, each one trying to perform a spectacular move to outdo each other. Cream had blindly back-flipped over three houses while Sonic spun around and used his Keyblade as a boomerang, grabbing random object. But just as it had began, Cream stopped in front of the only decent housing in the entire district, signaling the end of their little game.

"Not bad, Sonic." Cream complimented. "With a little more practice, you might be even better than me."

"And Silver said I had a big head." Sonic joked.

"And you still do." Silver moaned as he and the others dragged themselves around the corner. "Please tell me this is the place."

"Yep, let me show you inside." Cream nodded.

The little rabbit skipped over to the door and threw it open – it sounded like she hit someone. The Sonic Team scurried into the single-room housing, taking in the sight of their new friend's household. As they would have expected from Shahra the Ring Genie, the entire place was decorated in an Arabian fashion with mounds of books against the walls and numerous star charts. The only thing that seemed out of place was the supercomputer tucked away in the corner of the room. Cream was bowing her head in a repeated apologize to the person she threw the door at, realizing it was Emerl.

Sonic recalled the first time he had encountered Emerl in the Budokai Tournament and first learned he was Metal's son. The young mecha definitely showed promised from his earlier performances. Emerl's body retained its usual shape and orange/yellow color scheme, but with a few new additions to his design. The Gizoid had an orange, three-pronged crest on his forehead, silver bands over his forearms, a spiked belt, and an ominous black cape around his waist that was ripped at the hem. After greeting Emerl, Sonic looked back to the rest of his friends.

Omega was sitting at the computer, but it was hard to recognize him due to the extreme changes in his appearance. Omega's body was smaller in comparison to his old form, but definitely showed the capability of fast maneuvering. It was given a much circular shape with human-like appendages, a dome-like skull, and two pronounced cherry-red eyes. His color scheme remained the same: Black arms and reds, a red body with a black stripe running down his backside, and the Omega symbol stamped on his forehead – that was the only way Sonic knew it was him. The cobalt hedgehog knew that Omega was the kind of person who loved to carry heavy firepower and presumed that he had weapons hidden somewhere in that small structure.

Tikal smiled lightly at the reunited heroes from the wall, brightening the room the only she could. The female echidna finally learned the marvel of pants and wore a pair of navy-blue jeans along with a white tube-top beneath an emerald-green jacket. She still kept some things such as he white-bandage sandals, white gloves with sapphire bracelets, golden necklace, and the golden tiara with the blue gem.

And leaning against the wall was Sonic first rival to a new world and the leader of this movement: Metal Sonic. He was one that had also gone under a definite change, but was easily recognizable. His body was much taller and empowered that before with five spikes jutting out from the back of his head matched with white highlights. The mechanical warrior's new appearance also consisted of burning-red shoes, black shoulder blades, and a spiked belt with a black cape around his waist. Even though he wasn't wielding his signature Spike Blade, Sonic could sense great power from him.

"Welcome to the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" Cream greeted cheerfully.

"Look who's finally back." Emerl said snidely. "For a while, I thought you guys had rolled over and died."

"Ignore him." Metal said calmly; Emerl hanged his head in defeat. "I knew you would be returning soon."

"What do you mean?" Storm asked curiously.

"A while back, everyone suddenly started remembering you guys, all at the same time." Metal answered.

"You...remembered?" Angel repeated. "Does that mean you guys forgot about us?! What kind of friends are ya?!"

"Well, you have been gone for a while." Cream commented. "We were wondering what happened to you guys."

"We were asleep." Marine answered simply.

"Where? In cold storage?" Omega said sarcastically; the Sonic Team blinked. "What? I updated my response and speech programs."

"That doesn't matter now." Tikal stated certainly. "The important thing is that we're all together again."

"So, um..." Sonic said hesitantly, fearing the answer. "We're trying to find Espio and the king. Have you seen 'em?"

"We came across the king seven months back." Metal answered; the team looked hopeful. "But he disappeared after that. All we know is that he was looking for something and we have yet to find out what it is."

"Well, thanks anyway." Sonic said appreciatively.

"Don't go thankin' us just yet." Emerl stated shortly. "Hollow Bastion's got a problem. A _BIG_ problem."

"You mean, like Nobodies?" Silver asked quickly. "Or the Heartless?"

"That's the one." Cream nodded.

"Sounds like you could use our help." Sonic stated.

"Then let's cut the small talk and get down to the issue at hand." Metal said with authority. "Sonic, Silver, Storm, Angel, Marine. We were hoping you would give us a hand around here."

"As if we're going to say no, mate?" Marine said confidently.

"I forgot who I was talking to." Metal said jokingly.

"Hey, what's the supposed to mean?" Silver glared suspiciously.

"Just think of it as a sort of 'Metal compliment.'" Tikal giggled.

"I suggest you follow me to the bailey." Metal commanded, opening the door to the household. "There's something you need to see."

And with that, the metallic warrior walked out of the house and in the direction of the bailey. But just before the heroes could take their first step, a cloud of white smoke appeared in the place where Metal was once standing. Once the smoke cloud dissolved, Silver was happily greeted by his fellow apprentice. Shahra the Ring Genie appeared unchanged by the passage of time just as Storm and Angel. She was a beautiful young woman with radish-red hair that curled over her head and sandy-dark skin. She wore a lavender tank-top, a pink sash, white baggy pants, a golden necklace and tiara, and her magical ring bracelets that acted as a median to her powers. Upon seeing her former classmate, Shahra joyously hugged the grey hedgehog.

"Silver, I thought you were here!" Shahra greeted happily before turning to the others. "And I could sense you a mile away, O' humble Key Bearer."

"Oh, you saw that." Sonic chuckled embarrassingly. "Well, you have to admit is a lot to take in." Shahra was smirked devilishly in his direction. "Anyway, what have you been doing lately?"

"I am so happy you asked." Shahra smiled, clapping her hands together. "You're not the only one studying under s great master, Sonic. I would like you to meet my appren..." She waved her arms sideways, only to learn that nobody was there. "Uh...has anyone seen my apprentice?"

"AHH!!" A sharp scream was heard, followed by a loud thud from the mountains of book. "Over here, master."

Shahra sighed and rubbed her forehead irritably – she was obviously not happy by her student's progress. The student in question picked herself up out of the book pile, brushed herself off, and bowed to the Sonic Team. She was a tall human like Shahra with radish-red hair braided backwards that ended with a golden ring. She wore gleaming purple robes with Arthurian symbols and a golden tiara with a blood-red dropping against her forehead. She was clutching a long staff with a jade sphere speared at the end, most likely to be the median of her powers. But what surprised the Sonic Team was how much the master and apprentice looked in terms of facial appearance. The team looked back and forth between them, all coming to a simultaneous thought.

"No, I did not clone myself." Shahra said, once again showing her astounding ability of Legilimency. "Her name is Merlina the Sorceress. I found her talents while I was wondering through the Corridors of Space."

"It is such an honor to work under Master Shahra's tutelage." Merlina said proudly. "I am still just a novice, but I will not stop until I have lived up to my master's expectations."

"Any chance we can switch students, Shahra?" Silver requested jokingly.

"**Perhaps switch bodies, as well.**" Dark Sonic said jokingly; Shahra stifled a laugh.

"Guess what, guys." Cream said cheerfully. "Sonic and the gang are going to help us out."

"I knew we could count on you." Shahra nodded. "Does that mean you gave them the cards?"

"Oh, I almost forgot." Tikal said. "Metal wanted to give these to you as a present."

The female echidna reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of brightly-colored cards. She distributed them between each hero – all of them had a curious look. On the face of the card was the castle in the middle of the town, or what he expected it to look like afterwards. And on the back, each hero's name was filled in along with the same sentence: Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member.

"Cool!" Marine exclaimed bubbly. "Membership cards!"

"Hey, thanks for the gift Me...." Sonic said until realizing that the mechanical warrior was still missing. "Oh man, we were supposed to meet him in the bailey!"

Once realizing their mistake, the Sonic Team charged out of Shahra's home like their tails were on fire. After being given a full layout while chasing Cream, Sonic had a good idea where the bailey was located. And much to his own astonishment, his choice turned out to be correct as the climbed the flight of stairs into the bailey. They discovered Metal leaning against the wall, staring out into the Great Maw – his expression was ridged and tense.

"Look at that." Metal commanded, point out to the Great Maw.

Just one glance told them everything was far from good in Hollow Bastion. Just beyond the Dark Depths, at the base of the Villain's Vail, millions of shadows swarmed the chasm – golden eyes flashed in every direction. Sonic and his team were powerful and had taken on impossible odds, but not even they could handle something like that.

"We want to restore Hollow Bastion to what it was before." Metal said sympathetically. "Who knows – maybe something even better. There's still a lot to do, but I'm sure we can handle everything...except that..." He pointed out to the Great Maw, singling out two stray Nobodies. "And that."

"Aw, don't worry." Sonic said confidently. "We'll handle them."

"Well, you have my vote of confidence." Metal nodded. "So how about filling me in on all the details."

"There's this guy named Eggman." Sonic explained. "He was working for Black Doom before he bit the big one. Now he's in charge of the Heartless and coming up with new schemes." He crossed his arms in arrogance. "But he's about as dangerous as a jar of butterflies. The ones we need to worry about are the Nobodies."

"And those Order XIII guys in charge of them." Storm added.

"You called?" A menacing new voice echoed.

The new sound startled the heroes, causing them to pull out their weapons, including Metal and his Spike Blade. The cobalt hedgehog cautiously followed the voice until he was out of the bailey and standing over the path to the castle.

"You're doing well." A second voice said.

"As one would expect from the power of the Keyblade." The first voice echoed tauntingly. "Now if it was only in more...capable hands."

"Why don't you stop hiding and show yourselves?!" Sonic demanded.

And unexpectedly, they did. Just as he remembered from a year before, a man garbed in a Black Cloak emerged from the Corridors of Darkness, summoning his allies to his side. What remained of the deadly Order XIII was now left to six individual members, but Sonic suspected they were by far the deadliest of them. And while the Superior of the Order showed no signs of outstanding power, the Keyblade Master could not resist and involuntary shiver trailing down his spine. The atmosphere seemed much colder around him.

"Order XIII!" Angel screamed, snapping Sonic out of his trance.

"Well, we found them." Sonic said, feeling suddenly weak. "Let's settle this here and now."

"What a shame." The Superior said mockingly; the other members laughed falsely. . "And here I thought we could be friends."

And just as quick as they came, the six members of the Order disappeared into the Corridors of Darkness. Possibly hoping to catch them, Marine made a break for the stairs, but was suddenly stopped when darkness sprouted in her path. One of the Order members stepped out of the dark portal, unconsciously throwing the surprised raccoon off balance, and stepped ahead to confront the Keyblade Master. Sonic did not understand his methods. Why did he stay while the others fled?

"Hey, get out of the way, meanie!" Marine shouted angrily.

Sonic the Hedgehog, chosen wielder of the Keyblade." The member said monotonously. "Of course, if you knew the true reason why the Keyblade of Twilight chose you, you would find it hard to believe."

"Keyblade of Twilight?" Sonic repeated with a raised brow. "This is the Keyblade of Light. Mephiles even said so."

"The one you call Mephiles was deceived." The member proclaimed. "You hold too much darkness in your heart to wield the Keyblade of Light. As such, the Keyblade of Twilight is your true weapon, but one of the Four Paths nonetheless."

"**He's right, you know.**" Dark Sonic stated seriously. "**As long as I reside within your heart, you could never wield the Keyblade of Twilight. I am...simply a burden.**"

"_You're not a burden, Dark._" Sonic proclaimed honestly. "_If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have escaped the Realm of Darkness._"

"**You were never in any danger.**" Dark Sonic stated. "**Your heart was too strong to be consumed.**"

"_Thanks for the pep talk._" Sonic said gratefully before becoming vocal. "Ok, so I might not be the Keyblade Master of Light, but Twilight is still strong enough to be you guys."

"You were frightened by the mere shadow of the Superior." The member stated. "How could you ever hope to defeat Order XIII if you allowed such fear to bind your heart?"

Sonic hated to admit it, but it was true – he was afraid. The cobalt hedgehog had only encountered them once, but it was enough to send his heart racing at the overwhelming evil they presented. Shaking his head free of those thoughts, SOnic stared down at the mysterious warrior, feeling a sudden tension in his chest. A heart was beating rapidly against his ribcage, but it wasn't his or Dark Sonic. Then all of a sudden, the Keyblade Master noticed a small droplet of water escaping from the member's hood. He was....crying.

"Why did you always look at me with those eyes?" The member asked.

And before Sonic could decipher those words, the unknown character vanished into the Corridors of Darkness. Silver and the others were so stunned by the confrontation that none of them bothered to stop him from escaping. But before fading away, the Corridors of Darkness released a page of paper at Sonic's feet. The cobalt hedgehog swiftly picked it up – it was a page from Zoan's Journal.

"That was weird." Silver commented.

"I wonder..." Sonic said thoughtfully. "He said I always looked at him with those same eyes. Have I met him before?"

"I'll bet he was just trying to psych you out." Angel proclaimed. "Trying to throw you off your game so that you would be caught off guard."

"I...guess your right." Sonic nodded hesitantly.

Though he had a feeling that there was some deeper connection, Sonic brushed the thought aside. And by his own instinct, Sonic suddenly thought to hold his Restoration Committee Card out, watching it glow against the sun. But that glow did not go away even after he unconsciously let go of the card. Instead, the membership card floated higher into the air the Keyblade suddenly radiated with the same energy. This was what they had been looking for. Holding his Keyblade in front of him, Sonic's mind wandered into another dimension, where only the card's light shined. The membership card emitted a beam of light into the sky and formed into the shape of a keyhole. And like in times before, Sonic thrusted his chosen weapon forward and emitted a beam of light to strike at the Keyhole, unlocking the gateway this time. Sonic's mind was sharply thrusted back into reality.

"**That was the light Nyrox was talking about.**" Dark Sonic said pointedly. "**A new passageway has been opened.**"

"This is our chance." Sonic said aloud, turning to Metal. "Sorry to hit and run, Metal, but other worlds are calling."

"Order XIII..." Metal said solemnly. "They are definitely going to be a problem. Do me a favor and try not to get killed."

"Can't make any promises." Silver smirked.

The metallic warrior shook his head and gestured a farewell to the wandering heroes. Their visit was too short for Sonic's taste, but he knew that other worlds would soon be needing them. And when they do, they would stop Order XIII in their tracks.

* * *

The scene alternates to the circular room of throne in the unknown world, which was properly named "Where Nothing Gathers". Like the rest of the world that surrounded it, the room was empty and silent – that would end only too quickly. Corridors of Darkness exploded in a selective number of thrones, depositing the members of the Order in their proper places, including the man who confronted Sonic, No. III.

"The Keyblade Master seemed quite disturbed by our presence." No. III stated. "It is ten years too early for a child like that to wield the Keyblade."

"Well, that's good for us." No. II said malevolently. "Now he'll just keep obediently going ahead. Just like someone else we once knew. Too bad I didn't get a chance to taste his meaty bones. They looked appetizing."

"You're sick." No. IX said disgusted.

"If Sonic doesn't follow through, he will be useless to us." No. VII hissed.

"Then maybe we can have a little fun with him." No. X sniggered tauntingly. "I could use some good entertainment around here."

"Maybe we can get a television in this joint." No. IX suggested. "If you make me wanna go for it quickly, I'll do it. It's no fun just sitting around in this gloomy world. Besides, that hedgehog doesn't look like a bright one."

"Well, isn't someone confident." No. II chuckled menacingly. "So if anything happens, you'll can handle it?"

"Say wha?!" No. IX exclaimed fretfully. "Uh...I just remembered I left the stove on – very busy!"

"That is enough!" The Superior said strongly. "Do not pretend that you have hearts misleading you. We feel nothing."

"How boring." No. X yawned. "There goes my entertainment."

"Those who forget our true goals will be eliminated." No. VII hissed monotonously. "Just as those traitors paid the price for their actions. All though, I did have hope for Terro at one point."

"Everyone..." The Superior called to attention. "The Keyblade Master of Twilight is once again walking the path. If he is anything like his father, his path can be easily mislead given the proper planning. Go...."

And with that, the remaining members of the Order vanished into the Corridors of Darkness. Although No. III lingered longer than the others, he shortly followed them. The Superior was once again alone, left with only his thoughts...and others.

"Let's see how you avoid this, Zoan." The Superior murmured.

* * *

**The paths of destiny branch off farther than expected. What purpose does the Keyblade Master serve in the Order's plans? What does No. III know of Sonic? And who is the true Keyblade Master of Light? Find out on the next Sonci Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

**Zoan's Journal 7**

While beings born of darkness and those lacking hearts may find them convenient, it is dangerous for others to make much use of the Corridors of Darkness. Darkness erodes the heart.

In search of a place to proceed with my research and planning away from prying eyes, I found myself in "Soleanna." It is a quiet city, forgotten in the chasm between light and darkness. I situated myself in the basement of the abandoned ruins standing beyond the woods.

My underground research resulted in one new discovery after another.

When a Heartless is born, the body and soul left behind are reborn into this world as a different being.

They possess different intentions than their Heartless brethren, and while it is unclear what these sentient "things" are after, it would appear they are responsible for much bedlam in the world.

My erstwhile friend the King and his subjects, along with a hero wielding a Keyblade – my son – are battling the Heartless even as a new threat approaches.

This new threat...they have given themselves a fitting name, I suppose.

These non-beings: "Nobodies."

A great number of Nobodies have lost physical form, as have the Heartless. Yet the Nobody born of someone with a strong heart retains its shape, with but the faintest visible changes.

It appears my betrayers have retained their physcial forms as Nobodies, and are gathering more followers in hopes of furthering a new scheme.

"Order XIII," formed of 13 Nobodies with my betrayers at its core, has divided into two; they are said to be carrying out some sort of research.

Seeking to uncover the plans of this Order, I have decided to head for where six of its members have gathered. Towering over the outer limits of the realm between darkness and light:

Castle Oblivion

* * *

**And now it's time for the best part: choosing the next world**

**1) Amegakure**

**2) Digital World**


	16. Angels and Demons, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Fifteen: Angels and Demons, Part 1

The scene opens to the Corridors of Space between worlds, just shortly after the Sonic Team had departed from Hollow Bastion. While Silver went to work in calculating the nearest world and the other went about their own business, Sonic was sitting cross-legged on his Gear in thought. The Order was making their move and Hollow Bastion was definitely at the center of it, which was apparent by their appearance. But what disturbed the Keyblade Master the most was that while the Superior and his subjects escape, one of them actually confronted Sonic directly. He didn't know why, but something in his chest tightened at the thought of the hooded man. His words still echoed in his head.

"_Why did you always look at me with those eyes?_"

"With the same eyes..." Sonic mumbled. "When have I seen him before?"

"**Even I don't recall meeting him except for that one time at Black Doom's Fortress.**" Dark Sonic added. "**You need to keep on your toes. Order XIII is mysterious and crafty.**"

"_Tell me something I don't know._" Sonic thought.

"Everyone, I have our next target." Silver announced, drawing their attention. "Because of the gateway Sonic opened, there is a new world called...'The Digital World'." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well...let's home the people are more original than the name."

"You know, I get the funny feeling I heard that name before." Angel said thoughtfully.

* * *

The following scene touches down to the surface of the Digital World, which was inappropriately named in one's opinion. Over the grassy fields and the tall mountains, a village rested quaintly close to the forest surrounding it. But at the moment, that momentary peace was reduced to cindering ashes along with the homes and people burned in the blaze. The entire village was devastated in a single blow. And standing in the heart of the inferno was a tall, humanoid creature with deathly-pale skin, jagged blond hair sticking in the back, and a steel-plated tail. His attire consisted mostly of black leather from head-to-toe, steel-toed boots, silver gauntlets, a red bandanna on his left forearm, and a violet helmet with opens to show his three blaring-red eyes. The malevolently creature was staring into the fire, grinning madly at his work.

* * *

The next scene shifts to a clearing in the forest from a view where the dark tyrant's chaos could be witnessed. And through the bramble of bushes, a hidden character watched the demon laugh cruelly as he ruthlessly slaughtered anyone that tried to escape his gaze. The character in question was garbed in tan, stitched shirt with extra material in the sleeves to give him a muscular appearance, a of equally stitched pants with extra padding, a black strap across the torso to hold a pure-white bow and a quiver of silver-tipped arrows. The face of the creature looked to be a murky-blue wolf with lengthy, emerald-green hair, but closer inspection would hint that the face was merely a mask. The person hidden under the cowl shivered at the demon's vindictiveness.

"That's Beelzemon, leader of the Dark Army!" The hidden warrior looked back to a large rock, where the shadow of a shapeless creature was silhouetted. "C'mon, girl! This is your big chance! I can see it now: 'Angewomon whups public enemy number one!' You're going to be famous! I'm talkin' A-list!"

"Dorumon..." Angewomon spoke with uncertainty. "I'm not so sure this is going to work out. I haven't even joined the army yet. This could possible be the only chance left for me to actually do something to put an end to this segregation." She sighed hopelessly. "That it is, if they don't find out I'm a human-type."

"Whatever." The shadow known as Dorumon scoffed. "You're just scared – admit it."

"Aren't you?" Angewomon asked innocently.

The shadow sighed irritably. Meanwhile, the Sonic Team had landed in the exact forest not too far from where the masked woman and the formless shadow were talking. At first, they found nothing wrong and even questioned why the world was called the Digital World if there were no computers. Most of the group passed by and ignored the duo to their left except for Storm, who stopped momentarily to observe them. Curious as to why their largest friend had stopped and peered between the uncertain woman and the lashing shadow on the rocks – she looked scared in their eyes.

"Think it's a Heartless, mate?" Marine whispered.

"Let's get the jump on him and find out." Angel suggested.

"Now, hold on a minute, guys." Storm stammered fretfully. "Maybe we should look before we..."

But Sonic, Angel, and Marine, the more hotheaded members of the group, did not stay to listen to the rest of his sentence. Their weapons drawn, the trio charged forward with a thunderous battle cry. Hearing the screams of the Keyblade Master and his friends, the unknown shadow made removed himself from his hiding place in the rocks and jumped into Angewomon's arms. Sonic and the duo screeched to a halt as Silver and Storm nonchalantly walked into the open – they recognized the small, shivering creature. A vulpine-like beast with vibrant-purple fur and some distinct dinosaur features around his face, which added to the pair of small black wings and red jewel stamped into his forehead. It was hard to believe that over a year ago, this very same monster had helped in the downfall of Black Doom.

"Is that Dorumon?" Silver questioned.

"That's right; I know you heard of me!" Dorumon shouted; his eyes were covered with his tail. "I'm little, lethal, and legendary! Now y'all scram before I open a can of royal whupping on ya!"

"Hey, Dorumon!" Sonic grinned cheerfully. "We've missed you, buddy!"

"Well, you better hope I miss you, or else you're..." Dorumon began until finally lifting his tail. You could only imagine the look of joy and relief spreading across his face. "Sonic! Silver! Storm! Angel! Marine!"

"You know them?" Angewomon asked surprisingly as the beast jumped out of her arms.

"Know them?!" Dorumon exclaimed, laughing. "Man, we used to kick all kinds of bad guy butt together! Yeah, you know, I helped these guys out of a lot of tight spots. 'Cause I'm a Royal Knight! Right?"

"Something like that." Sonic sniggered, noticing the masked woman. "And...You are?"

"I'm Angewomon..." Angewomon answered, sputtering slightly at the mistake. "Um, no, I-I mean..."

"Merukimon!" Dorumon exclaimed sharply.

"Angewomon Merukimon." Marine repeated thoughtfully. "That must take a long time to write down."

"I'm just Merukimon!" Angewomon grunted in a gruff voice, pounding her chest; she wheezed softly. "I am Merukimon of the Noble Wolf Tribe!"

"You know Dorumon?" Sonic asked.

Dorumon is a Royal Knight that was sent by Lord Imperialdramon as a guardian." Angewomon answered. "It is his mission to watch over me and make sure that this war is brought to an end. He's supposed to guide me along the way."

"That sounds important." Storm commented. "And we never realized that we were borrowing someone as important as a Royal Knight, especially one as important as him."

"Yeah, that's right!" Dorumon shouted, grinning from ear to ear. He jumped on Angewomon's padded shoulders, curling his tail around her arm. "And that puts you all up to your eyeballs in debt to Merukimon here. Well, guess what, kiddies? It's payback time!"

"Dorumon..." Angewomon hissed.

"Ah, they don't mind." Dorumon waved. "Ain't that right?"

"Well, I suppose that sounds fair." Silver said, nodding in agreement with the team. "After all, Dorumon did help us in the final battle against Black Doom. We owe him our lives."

"Glad to hear it." Dorumon smirked victoriously. "See, Merukimon here was just on his way to join the Paladin Army. We gotta go find the other recruits over at the training camp."

"Would you join us?" Angewomon asked, disguising her voice. ""It would be easier to fit in with beast-types, like you."

"What do you mean, 'fit in', mate?" Marine asked.

"Hey, I got it!" Storm shouted with realization. "You're a human dressing up and pretending to be an animal, aren't ya?"

"Say what?!?!" The other members exclaimed shockingly.

"You didn't notice?" Angewomon giggled; the other four shook their heads in disbelief. "I think this is going to work, Dorumon."

"I don't know – those guys would fall for anything." Dorumon commented as Angewomon walked past the team.

"I'm right here, you know!" Sonic shouted heatedly.

The tiny vulpine merely laughed as the Sonic Team followed the masked Angewomon down the dirt path through the forest, leading the way towards the Paladin Army campsite.

* * *

**---Digital World---**

For what seemed like the best of ten minutes, Angewomon was leading the Sonic Team in an unknown direction, which she _hoped_ was the away to the campgrounds. But she was rather thankful that neither Sonic nor the other members of the team knew where they were going. But while the majority of his team conversed over the possibilities of what the Order was planning, Sonic bounced ahead until he was walking side-by-side with Angewomon. Dorumon had taken a haunting to sleeping in the hair of the woman's mask – his tail was hanging openly.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something?" Sonic requested interestingly. "What's with the getup and the weird name? Does it really matter what your name is or how you look?"

"It does if I want to stay alive." Angewomon stated; Sonic did a double-take. "For as long as I could remember, human-types and beast-types have been at war with each other for centuries. No one really knows what happened, but I think the human-types started the war because they believed the beast-types were mindless monsters meant to serve the superior race. The only people who are against this war are Imperialdramon and the Royal Knights."

"Sound's like they've got their heads in the right place." Sonic commented.

"**In my opinion, they sound a lot like you.**" Dark Sonic complimented.

"_Really_?" Sonic responded embarrassingly.

"They've been trying for hundreds of years to rebuild relations between the human-types and beast-types." Angewomon continued. "But every attempt has been in vein. And even though I am a human-type underneath this disguise, I think human-types and beast-types can live peacefully with each other."

"So you're planning to join the beast-types and make them see that not all human-types are bad." Sonic said in realization.

"That's part of the reason." Angewomon added, bushing a series of branches aside. "The current leader of the human-types is a heartless monster called Beelzemon. He claims that he only wants to lead the human-types to victory, but I know he's only doing this so that he can get one step closer to Imperialdramon's throne." She grunted with frustration as she kicked an uprooted log aside. "I'm not going to let that madman take control of everything."

"Then we'll help you." Sonic nodded.

"**Why does that not surprise me?**" Dark Sonic moaned; Sonic laughed silently.

Though the cobalt hedgehog couldn't see it, Angewomon smiled appreciatively to her newest friend. Some time later, Storm and Angel shoved the branches out of their path, presenting a view of the Paladin Army training camp in the middle of a wide clearing. As they walked past the wall of slated lumber and the rows of tents, the Sonic Team was amazed by the number of monster, varying from shape and size. Marine pointed excitedly to a pair of tall cockroaches until Silver pulled her back with a nervous apology for her antics. Though the Sonic was not disturbed by the number of odd creatures surrounding them, Angewomon was visibly shaking, despite the thick layer of clothing. Obviously feeling the woman's tension, Dorumon emerged from the fold of green hair and tapped his fist against the side of her head.

"Girl, what's wrong with you?" Dorumon said defiantly. "No one is going to a recruit a guy scared of his own shadow."

"But look at all of them." Angewomon said nervously, gesturing to the crowd of beasts. "How am I supposed to compare to any of them? They're all big and strong and all I've got is a bow and arrow."

"Ah, they're just a bunch of pushovers." Dorumon proclaimed, ignoring the pair of rhino-like beasts wrestling no to far away. "It all comes down to how tough you look. So puff out that chest, reflex your muscles and show them what a real soldier is supposed to looks like!"

The masked woman did as she was told, feeling quite stupid as she did it, and walked awkwardly into the encampment. Sonic and his team had to repress their laughter behind their hands, thinking it was better to not make Angewomon feel any worse than she did now. But as the Keyblade Master was observing his friend, he was suddenly thrusted forward from behind and landed with his face in a puddle of fresh mud. Sonic wiped sloshing contaminant away, growling angrily as he turned on his back to face the creature responsible. The beast was an orange tyrannosaurus rex equally the same size as Marine with blood-red leather belts strapped to each of his claws. The rex-beast was sniffing the air, apparently looking for something.

"Where's the grub in this joint?" The dinosaur grumbled.

"Hey, what's your problem?!" Sonic yelled heatedly.

"Right now, that would be you." The dino said, kicked mud in Sonic's face.

That pretty much drew the line for Marine. The rascally raccoon saw Sonic as an older brother that she loved and insulting the Keyblade Master was the last thing anyone would want to do. Even though she could have used her weapon, Marine simply tackled the orange dino into the ground and started punching him in the face. The Sonic Team was taken back by this as much as Angewomon was. And before they had the chance to break up the fight, two new characters appeared and shoved them aside.

The first of the duo was an ocean-blue wolf that reached the same height as the orange dinosaur with white fur on his chest and a small tuft at the end of his tail. His only attire consisted of a red bandana around his forehead and a pair of burning-red boxing gloves on each of his claws. The second creature was a crimson-red raptor with razor-sharp claws and stood a head taller than the other two. While he had a white underbelly, a majority of his body was covered with black rings and triangles – the most prominent was on his chest.

"You just can't stay out of trouble, can ya?" The wolf snickered.

"Are we fighting already?" The raptor asked innocently. "I was hoping of getting something to eat before we fight."

"How about a knuckle sandwich!" The rex snarled.

And with that, the trio of monsters were forced into a frenzy of flying fists and sweeping tails – some of them weren't theirs. It was only a matter of time before Sonic and the other realized that Marine was not with them and most likely caught in the middle of the dog pile. So without hesitation, Sonic jumped into the scrap with Angel shortly following in his stead – she just wanted a good reason to fight. As the blue wolf prepared to punch Marine's teeth out, the pink experiment came from behind and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming his face into the ground. The orange rex was literally slapping the raptor silly until Sonic came from behind and locked the dinosaur's arms behind his head. Though he really didn't seem to be paying attention to the fight, the raptor twitched his tail and knocked both warriors off their feet. It was total mayhem and quickly drawing the eyes of every soldier in the encampment – many of them were placing bids on who would win. And while Silver and Storm tried to settle things from the sidelines, Angewomon tried a direct approach.

"Please, stop!" Angewomon requested loudly. The fighting did stop, but now everyone was staring at the masked woman as if she had grown four heads in that moment. Then she quickly realized her mistake – she was too polite. "Uh...knock it off, you morons!"

"Did you just say please?" The wolf scoffed. "Man, you are such a human-type."

"At least she doesn't go around punching people at random!" Sonic growled.

"What a wuss!" The rex cackled.

"Who are you calling a wuss, jerky breathe?!" Dorumon screamed from Angewomon's disguise, drawing everyone's attention. "I am a bona fide Royal Knight, ya hear!"

"A Royal Knight?" The raptor repeated, leaning his head in confusion. "Like the guys in the shiny armor?

"Um...let's get back to our own business." Angewomon suggested hopefully.

"Just whose side are you on?!" Sonic exclaimed exasperatedly. "I'm the one that got slugged!"

"Want some more?" The rex offered insultingly.

"**I wouldn't mind meeting him in a dark alley.**" Dark Sonic sneered.

"That enough!" A new voice shouted forcefully. "Line up and present yourselves!"

Just by the tone of his voice, the Sonic Team, the Beastly Trio, and Angewomon formed a line along with the other soldiers of the encampment. The apparent leader of the encampment walked down the line and stopped in front of the troublemakers with his eyes narrowed between Sonic and the orange rex. He was a blue lizard/dragon warrior with a white maw and stomach present beneath his armor. His attire mostly consisted of burning-red armor with yellow flames placed on his feet, claws, kneecaps, and chest with a spiked helmet covering his face. Each of his hands and feet had three lengthy blade-like claws that looked like they could shred Sonic in seconds.

"I am Flamedramon, leader of this unit!" Flamedramon announced, walking down the row. "And that would make me your commanding officer. So I will tell you this once: I will not tolerate battles between members of this unit. If you even think of starting a fight, you will be out of this army before you can even say 'run'." His eyes fell back on Sonic and the orange rex. "There are no exceptions."

"But he's the one that..." Sonic began feebly.

"I did not ask for an excuse!" Flamedramon snapped. "All nine have already earned my attention and that is not a good thing." He moved closer to intimidate the hedgehog. "Just give me one reason and I will drag you out of this camp personally. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes." Sonic mumbled defeated.

"What was that?!" Flamedramon shouted.

"Yes, sir!" Sonic screamed in attention.

The flame-armored warrior nodded to the hedgehog and continued to walk down the line, inspecting the new recruits. It wasn't fair, Sonic thought. Why was it that that he seemed more intent on getting Sonic thrown out when it was the orange dinosaur that started all the trouble? The cobalt hedgehog shifted his glare from the beast in question to Flamedramon's backside as he finished inspecting his newest unit. But then, something moved out of the corner of his eyes. Without wasting a moment, Sonic broke from the ranks, much to the horror of his fellow soldiers, and tackled the fire warrior to the ground. Flamedramon looked ready to thrash the hedgehog until he noticed the Keyblade Master drawing his weapon and slashing a Shadow Heartless in two. The soldiers murmured fearfully while Flamedramon stood up in amazement.

"What in the name of Fanglongmon was that?"

"Trouble." Sonic answered.

And from that point, the Shadow Heartless emerged before the Keyblade Master with a new addition to the Heartless hordes. They reminded Sonic of the Search Ghost Heartless they fought over a year ago, but this creature had midnight-blue skin and was garbed in a deep-purple robe with a springy hat to match. For future references, these creatures were to be called Nightwalkers. The Sonic Team broke the ranks to join their leader, summoning their weapons, followed by an uncertain Angewomon. And though the Keyblade Master and his friends knew the dangers of the Heartless, the army of beast-types did not see them as a threat. In fact, some of them were laughing – Flamedramon was not one of them.

"Ooh, look at the big scary monster." The orange rex said sarcastically, walking over to the closest Nightwalker. "Oh no, he's going to take me away and dress me up like a stupid piñata." This earned a few chuckles from the other beast-types. "You're not scary at all, you big ugly Halloween reject."

But just as the words escaped his muzzle, the Nightwalker slapped the orange rex against the face and sent him flying beyond the borders of the encampment. That was enough to send the whole unit in a panic. While most of the beast-types cleared out – a few of them said they quit – Flamedramon remained behind to help Sonic and his friends. The Nightwalkers formed a single line in the back while the cluster of Shadows advanced upon them. The fire-armored warrior was the first to initiate the attack. As the Shadow Heartless jumped to grab Flamedramon, the burning warrior ignited his fist with a roar of blazing fire and thrusted his claws into the closest one. Two of the Shadows were burned in seconds while the rest of its charges continued to advance. The warrior of fire was doing great in defending himself, but eventually found his way pinned into a corner of the encampment. But Flamedramon did not look worried. Instead, the fire warrior jumped up as the crawls performed their regular attack, landing perfectly at the top of the log wall.

"Wow..." Angewomon murmured admiring.

"Hey, we can't just let him have all the fun." Sonic grinned. "Let's show them what a real soldier is made of!"

"Yeah!" Marine cheered, thrusting her fist into the air.

With that, the Sonic Team charged into the flock, unknowingly leaving Angewomon alone. The Keyblade Master eagerly jumped into the heart of the swarm, stabbing his chosen weapon through the head of the first Heartless he saw. With their original target present, the Heartless ignored Flamedramon and scurried back to surround the cobalt hedgehog. Sonic welcomed the challenge with gusto as he swung and swiped at every Shadow that made a jump for him. The Keyblade Master was proving himself to be a difficult contender until his arrogance got the best of him a received a crushing blow to the back of his head. Sonic was sending sliding along the ground on his face, crashing noisily into a tent filled with pots and pans. The cobalt hedgehog, with a pot lid on his head, poked his head out of the tent as the Nightwalkers laughed insanely.

"Hey, don't you know it's rude to sneak up on people?" Sonic pouted.

"Apparently I haven't taught you enough." Silver sighed.

The Babylon Mage with Marine at his side jumped between the Nightwalkers and the Keyblade Master trying to regain his dignity. The floating specters crept closer at a painfully slow pace with their hands forward like zombies, causing the heroes to go on the defensive. But the Nightwalkers showed no sign of anything out of the ordinary and merely drifted in a complete circle around them, providing them with a false sense of security. That's when they struck. One of the Nightwalkers stretched his hand to an amazing length and jabbed Silver in the cheek to throw him off balance. The other specters followed this up with their own attacks before Silver was given a chance to recover from the initial blow. Out of pure instincts, Marine threw her hands up with the glowing orb in one, somehow managing to create a dome of emerald-green around them. The Nightwalkers were repelled by the attack and left themselves wide open for a counterattack. The moment Marine's barrier faded, Silver stabbed his staff into the ground with a rapid chant and summoned several bolts of lightning from the dragon's mouth. The quick bolts zapped through the Nightwalker's chests and evaporated them into nothing.

"And that's how you do thing right." Silver said...until a Shadow latched to his face. "Ahh!! Get it off me!!"

"That's my teacher." Sonic laughed, chasing after the frantic mystic.

Meanwhile, Storm and Angel were once again proving themselves as the ultimate pair. Angel was jumping from Heartless to Heartless, stabbing each one as she moved, while Storm stampeded through the flocks with his shield ahead. And on the occasions Storm left himself open from behind, Angel would jump over his head and throw her silver daggers to stab the opposing monsters between their eyes. And at times when Angel was overrun by the Shadows, Storm would place her shield in front of her to fend off the attackers. And within minutes, Angel was sitting on her friend's shoulder as the last of the Shadows evaporated into darkness.

"Mess with the bull..." Angel smiled deviously.

"You get the horns." Storm finished, high-fiving his partner.

And as the battle dwindled to a close, Angewomon still remained on the sidelines, watching the Sonic Team fight courageously against the darkness. The masked women felt a twinge of admiration and jealousy for the heroes. But she was not allowed to dwell on these thoughts as Dorumon emerged from her false hairline, pounding his fist against her head.

"Girl, what are you waiting for?!" Dorumon exclaimed. "This is your chance to show off your machismo!"

"I-I think they've got it under control." Angewomon pointed nervously. "Besides, there's only a few of them left and I don't think I could..."

Her sentence was cut off when the masked woman noticed something in Flamedramon's area. The warrior of fire was fending off the last of the Shadow's, never noticing the Nightwalker sneaking behind him. She gasped horribly as the phantom monster raised its pointed claw, preparing to slash the army leader in the back of his neck. Angewomon's warrior instincts kicked in as she reached behind to grab her bow and quiver, knocking Dorumon out of her hair. Without even taking the time to aim, Angewomon knocked an arrow and released the string with a sharp twang. By some prophetic miracle or pure skill, the silver-tipped arrow cleaved the Nightwalker's head from the remaining portion of its body. Angewomon sighed in pure relief, watching the Nightwalker fade away and Flamedramon finished the last of the Shadow. Dorumon jumped back into her mask, grumbling under his breathe.

"No respect, I tell you." Dorumon muttered darkly. "No respect at all."

"That was excellent work." Flamedramon complimented kindly as the heroes lined up. He seemed to be referring to the Sonic Team more than Angewomon. "I haven't seen that type of valor and skill in ages. What are you names?"

"Sonic."

"Silver"

"Storm"

"Angel"

"Marine!"

"I thank you all for defending us from those monsters." Flamedramon nodded. "You are all welcome into my unit. Your skills in battle could encourage some of our more lacking soldiers to fight better."

"Um..." Angewomon said hesitantly. "My name is..."

"You should return home." Flamedramon said shortly. "You froze in the middle of a fight. We can't run the risk of losing a battle just because you are too scared to face your opponent in the eye."

"B-but..." Angewomon stammered. "I can't – I need...."

"Just get out of here." Flamedramon said seriously; Angewomon hung her head in shame. "Before I drag you out."

"Hey, Merukimon shows just as much effort as the rest of us!" Sonic proclaimed sternly; the others nodded swiftly. "The heartless just caught us by surprise! I'll bet with a little training, she..." Flamedramon stared curiously due to his slip up. "I mean, he will be the best of any of us. He'll get stronger in no time."

"Hmm..." Flamedramon hummed thoughtfully.

"You have to at least give us a chance." Silver stated confidently. "Just give us and assignment with Merukimon in charge and I promise that we'll succeed. And if we do, you must give your word that Merukimon will be given a place in this unit. If we fail....."

"If we fail, I'll leave this camp without question." Angewomon offered.

The Sonic Team knew she was putting a lot at stake, but this was possibly her only chance to push forward with her goal. The leader of the unit was scratching his chin thoughtfully, most likely thinking over the possibilities that were given to him. During their moment of silence, some of the beast-types that had fled from the battle were steadily returning, including the Beastly Trio with the orange rex knocked out cold. After taking a thorough gaze around the encampment, Flamedramon gazed between the Sonic Team and Angewomon with a calculative expression.

"So...you want to be tested?" Flamedramon questioned slowly; Angewomon nodded hopefully. "All right, I've got a mission for you that will not only determine your place in the Paladin Army, but will also determine the fate of this unit. I hope your ready."

"We'll handle it, no problem." Sonic said confidently, glancing to Angewomon. "Right?"

"R-right." Angewomon stammered nervously.

"**Why do I feel like we're getting the bad end of the deal?**" Dark Sonic moaned.

* * *

The scene alternates to the highest peak in the area, in the snowcapped mountains overlooking the valley. Beelzemon was sitting restlessly on a steep ledge at the pinnacle of the mountain, gazing out to the monumental city in his view. That was where Imperialdramon was defending his people. And it was where he, Beelzemon, would become master of the Digital World. The humanoid demon had sent a Heartless party to attack the Paladin Army over half an hour ago, but received no response from any of them.

"That's what I get for working with misshapen freaks." Beelzemon scolded, thrashing his tail in the snow. "If ya want something done right, ya gotta do it yourself."

"Something we can agree on." The dark demon turned sharply, pulling his double-barreled pistol. He soon lowered his hand when he was found to be confronting Black Doom. "I can sense that you are troubled. Are the Heartless that I have provided for you not enough to satisfy your needs."

"Apparently not." Beelzemon glaring, spitting at the ground below the overlord. "I sent those guys of yours and none of them came back. I thought you said they could handle a few brainless beasts."

"Beasts, perhaps." Black Doom said calmly, turning his back to Beelzemon. "But it has come to my attention that the Keyblade Master has returned as is more of a match than those mongrels you fight. I'm afraid you can't win against him."

"Do you have any idea who your talking to?!" Beelzemon roared, unlatching both pistols. "I am Beelzemon of the Seven Great Demon Lords! I'm gonna take over this stupid planet and there ain't no hedgehog that can stop me!"

"That's good to hear." Black Doom said satisfactory, listening to the crazed demon shoot his pistols.

* * *

**A troubled world provide even greater consequence. Can the Sonic Team help Angewomon join the Paladin Army? Will they keep their secret long enough to help the world? Or will Beelzemon prove to be a greater match for our heroes? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	17. Angels and Demons, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Sixteen: Angels and Demons, Part 2

The scene opens to the snowcapped mountains over looking the great valley of the Digital World. While far from reaching the pinnacle of the massive mountain, the Sonic Team and Angewomon, disguised as Merukimon, progressed forward. The group of six was given the difficult task of climbing the side of the great altitude, trying to persevere the chilling atmosphere. Sonic, Silver, and Angewomon were making a decent effort, Marine was making better headway due to her endless energy, and storm was making minimal progress. Angewomon nearly commented on the albatross's weight, but the trio was smart enough to stop her in time. Angel, meanwhile, was sleeping on the ledge above them, waiting lazily for the rest of her team to show up.

"What I wouldn't give to climb along walls." Sonic mumbled.

"**You have enough trouble standing on the ground.**" Dark Sonic commented; Sonic nearly lost his footing. "**Careful! You only have three hearts in the body and I'm not going to give up mine!**"

"_That's another thing I've been wondering about._" Sonic thought curiously. "_You never told me where that other heart came from. I'm sure I released Amy's heart after that whole incident with Mephiles and the Final Keyhole._"

"**I've been trying to communicate with it, but it has been difficult.**" Dark Sonic stated. "**Every time I make an attempt, it always answers with the same words: Xenot, X-Blade, and Unversed. I don't know about those three, but I have some suspicion that it may know your parents and some secret to Kingdom Hearts.**"

"_Well, keep trying._" Sonic responded. "_If it knows anything about Kingdom Hearts, maybe it can end this journey faster._"

"**And learn more about your parents.**" Dark Sonic said sympathetically.

The Keyblade Master remained quiet for the rest of the climb. Though his heart yearned to learn more about his parents and what fate befell them, Sonic knew that digging up unpleasant memories wouldn't help. He had to accept the fact that his mother was dead and that his father had disappeared. Right now, he had more important things to worry about. The team nearly exhausted themselves trying to pull Storm over the ledge, but was now only a mile away from their destination.

"Tell...me...again..." Storm panted tiredly. "Why...couldn't...we...just...take...the...path...?"

"Yeah, it would seem a lot easier than climb the side of a thousand foot mountain." Angel commented; her eyes were still closed.

"Infinity Mountain is only eight hundred and ninety-sev...." Angewomon broke of under the narrowed glares of her comrades. "I'm not helping, am I?" The Sonic Team shook in response. "Anyway, Flamedramon said that Beelzemon's forces are blocking up the path and stopping soldiers from entering the village. It's our mission to eliminate the opposition and provide a safe passage into the village."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to bring the army with us?" Sonic questioned.

"If we move in large numbers, we'll present ourselves as a greater target." Silver explained logically. "In this terrain, the enemy has the higher ground and the narrow path would make it nearly impossible to avoid. That's why he only sent a small squadron to scout."

"Wow, you're really smart, Silver." Marine commented cheerfully.

"Showoff." Sonic muttered darkly.

"Let's move out, soldiers!" Angewomon grunted forcefully. "We have a mission to complete!"

She was trying her best to play the part. While the Sonic Team had caught the eyes of the Paladin Army, Angewomon was easily overlooked in comparison to their skills. If they even wanted a chance to accomplish the masked woman's dreams of united species, they needed to get her into the army. After much convincing from the off-worlders, Flamedramon had granted a special mission with Angewomon leading the team – they couldn't afford to fail. With their weapons drawn, the group of six proceeded farther up the mountain trail towards the snow covered peak. On many occasions, the Sonic Team tensed up at the smallest sounds and covered themselves to prevent any of their enemies from finding their positions. However, most of the noises were either caused by wild animals or Storm's stomach – Angel seemed irritated. But for the majority of it, the journey seemed to have gone off without a hitch and that's what bothered the Sonic Team the most. While Angewomon seemed confident that they were going to make it without trouble, the heroes learned from experience never to trust the silence.

"_Why does this seem all too easy?_" Sonic thought suspiciously.

"**Because nothing is ever this easy.**" Dark Sonic responded in a hushed tone. "**Keep on your guard. I sense something dark wandering these mountains.**"

"Hey, mates!" Marine screamed loudly; the team jumped in fright. "I think I see that roadblock thingy!"

It was kinda hard to miss. The entrance to the village they were assigned had been clogged up by a compact layer of boulders, gravel, and dirt to form a massive wall. It was a simple obstacle, but nothing that an army of beasts couldn't handle. This was simply to good to be true. Though slightly hesitant from the lack of difficulty to this assignment, Angewomon and the Sonic Team push their shoulders against the rock wall. The result was almost instantiations. Just as the heroes could feel the gravel slipping through the cracks, a sharp chill ran through the Keyblade Master's spine. Acting off this natural instinct, the cobalt hedgehog summoned the Keyblade and swiped it across the air, slashing the jumping Shadow Heartless. The group jumped at the sudden impulse and turned as a squadron of thirty Heartless consisting of Shadows and Nightwalkers emerged from the darkness. With Sonic leading, the heroes withdrew their weapons – Angewomon had gotten over her temporary fear enough to unsheathe her bow.

"I told you it was too easy!" Sonic exclaimed.

"I thought Beelzemon's special forces were supposed to be up here." Angewomon said confusingly, knocking an arrow into her bow. "Why are these – they're called Heartless, right?"

"How much does anyone want to bet that Beelzemon is the one controlling these Heartless?" Angel wagered, waving a bag of chips in front of her large friend. "This is getting kind of predictable."

"But that doesn't seem possible." Silver said calculative. "The only ones that can control the Heartless are people who have mastered their own darkness like Black Doom or Mephiles. Where would Beelzemon learn to summon them?"

This was a perplexing question, but one that the heroes would have to worry about later on. Because the moment they looked away, the Heartless jumped headlong into the Sonic Team, forcing the group of six to scatter. Angel back flipped against the rock wall and glided over the heads of the Heartless, cutting off the antennas of two Shadow Heartless as she passed. The pink experiment landed and turned with a big grin on her face, laughing at the humiliation of the dark entities. Now if there was one thing you should never do, it's cut off the antenna of a Heartless – Angel learned this the hard way. Glaring malevolently to the dagger-wielding warrior, the Shadow Heartless cluttered together and pulled out a pair of giant hedge clippers, snapping them threateningly. Angel eyes bulged in horror. The pink experiment grabbed her antenna and dashed off in the opposite direction with the Shadows following close behind.

"Can't we talk this over?!" Angel screamed.

Meanwhile, Silver was forced back into a corner by a trio of Nightwalkers. The Babylon mystic had his hands closed over his staff and his eyes narrowed in concentration while his staggering enemies danced back and forth. The demonic Heartless stopped a few feet from the hedgehog, forming a circle around him and thrusted their expanded fists ahead. However, Silver used his telepathic powers to hover off the ground, narrowly avoiding the assault, and remained floating overhead. The Babylon mystic ignored the Nightwalker's attempts to reach him and focused his energy into his chosen weapon as an electrically current passed through the rod and into the dragon head. And with a single motion of his hands, Silver thrusted his staff downwards, conjuring a miniature lightning storm from the dragon's teeth. The electrical bolts stabbed the phantasmal demons through their hats and pierced their skulls, forcing the beasts back into the darkness.

"Well, that was...shocking." Silver sniggered.

"Mate, that is so old." Marine said bluntly.

Silver hanged his head in despair. And speaking of the rascally raccoon, Marine used her energy orb to rocket herself into the air over the Heartless and landed on one of the Nightwalker's hats. The Heartless in question was bucking around in random directions, trying to throw off the little nuisance, and unknowingly smacked into its comrades. To add more fun to the ride, Marine used her energy orb to form an emerald-green belt to keep herself attached to the Nightwalker and added boxing gloves to the Heartless. Heartless beating the hell out of each other with a rambunctious child leading the conflict – it was something you need to see to believe. Unfortunately, Marine merriment was short lived as a silver-tipped arrow ripped through the Nightwalker's neckline, throwing the raccoon of as the Heartless returned to the darkness. Marine lip quivered in sadness with animated tears from her eyes as she looked back to Angewomon, who was looking guilty.

"What was that for?" Marine sniffed dramatically. "I was going to name him Mr. Mike and take him home."

"Uh...sorry about that?" Angewomon apologized awkwardly. "I thought you were in danger."

"This is the saddest day of my life." Marine hiccupped as she wiped her eyes. "I'll never be happy aga – ooh, snow!!"

"She got over that fast." Angewomon sweat dropped.

While questioning the raccoon's sanity, Angewomon was unaware of the five Shadow Heartless crawling on the ledge above. The masked woman kneeled down to retrieve her arrow, suddenly taking notice of the miniature silhouettes stretched across the ground. Once the shadows moved, the disguised archer dropped on her back and knocked four arrows against her bow, releasing them with a sharp twang. Once again, Angewomon showed skills with a bow that was not possible, even by the Sonic Team's standards. She hadn't even taken the time to aim and had pierced all the attacking Heartless between the brilliant-yellow eyes. And despite only killing only four of the Shadows, Angewomon grabbed hold of the end of her bow and swiped it across the Heartless's face, throwing the monster off the ledge. The disguised woman crawled closer to the edge of the mountain, watching the Shadow tumble down the rock and disappeared beyond the mist.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout, girl!" Dorumon cheered, emerging from his hiding place. "Kickin' Heartless butt and takin' Heartless names! Oh, I'm definitely going to be a Royal Knight at this rate!"

"What was that?" Angewomon asked, snapping out of her momentary trance.

"Um...good job?" Dorumon chuckled weakly.

The vulpine monster disappeared back into the weave of green hair before blowing his cover. In an uncommon turn of events, Sonic and Storm were forced back-to-back by the remaining quantity of Heartless. They seemed to be focusing their attacks moreover on the Keyblade Master than the rest of the party. Sonic swiped and slashed at every Heartless that jumped for him and Storm used his shield to block while punching away the enemy. But every time they destroyed one Shadow, two more seemed to take its place. The duo was caught in a circle of darkness with Heartless flying in every direction, never allowing them a chance to rest. At what seemed like an hour, a Nightwalker managed to get the best of Storm and punched the Albatross's shield out of his grasp, throwing him back on the ground. And when the phantasm made a second attempt, Sonic quickly curved around and sliced the monster's wrist before his friend could be harmed. But with his friend's weapon resting outside the clutter, Sonic didn't know how he was going to protect himself and Storm.

"Please tell me you can punch your way out of this." Sonic pleaded.

"These Heartless are stronger than they were a year ago." Storm stated, dodging a diving Shadow. "I'm not sure I can get out of this without my shield."

"So then we're screwed." Sonic moaned, pushing back a random Nightwalker.

"**Not necessarily.**" Dark Sonic proclaimed. "**Remember, you carry powers that were granted by Master Nyrox and the Gaia Brothers. As long as you have your friends at your side, you can't fail.**"

"Storm, I think I've found our getaway." Sonic smirked, holding his hand close to his chest. "I just hope you brought along a sickness bag."

"Say wha?" Storm questioned.

But the cobalt hedgehog activated his Drive Form, forcing the albatross to collide with his back. And from the vibrant-red explosion coming from the contact, Valor Sonic stood poised with the Kingdom Key and the Star Seeker in each hand. The Heartless hissed malevolently, fearful of witnessing the appearance of two Keyblades. This was the first Sonic has used the Valor Form since its awakening at the Mysterious Tower, but something about the Form seemed right. He rested the Kingdom Key on his shoulder while holding the Star Seeker across his chest.

"Surprise!" Valor Sonic laughed.

"Did anyone know he could do that?" Angewomon questioned shockingly.

"We knew, but we still can't figure that guy out." Angel responded dully.

The crimson hedgehog twirled across the group of Shadow's, striking down a wide majority of the group in one swing. The moment he touched the ground, he back flipped over a pair of Nightwalkers and cross across their bodies in an 'X' formation. And from the point where he landed, Valor Sonic turned the Keyblade in his hands and stabbed backwards, spearing four Shadow through their heads. And after two minutes of similar tactics, the crimson Keyblade Master had reduced the squadron down to one Shadow. The Heartless in questioned had his back to the stone roadblock, quivering in apparent fear, while Valor Sonic grinned widely while tapping the Star Seeker on his shoulder. It was almost too easy. Pulling his arm back, the crimson warrior tossed the Star Seeker forward, simultaneously destroying the Shadow and eradicating the roadblock. The group shield themselves from the flying debris created by the outcome while Sonic and Storm separated from the Drive Form.

"So, how did it feel to fight in the same body?" Sonic asked.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Storm moaned; he did look a deep shade of green.

"You never cease to amaze me, Sonic." Angewomon complimented, choosing to ignore the vomiting in the background. "It's no wonder why Flamedramon let you into the Paladin Army."

"Don't ya worry, mate." Marine said soothingly. "I'm sure you'll do just fine. After what you did, he'll have to let you join."

"He better let my girl join!" Dorumon shouted, popping out of the hairpiece. "Or else I'm opening' a can of Royal Knight whuppin'!

"**I would pay rings to see that.**" Dark Sonic chuckled.

* * *

The scene alternates to the snow covered village at the pinnacle of Infinity Mountain one hour following the Sonic Team's adventure. Silver and Angel traveled down the mountain and returned later with the Paladin Army unit following behind after informing Flamedramon of their success. Many of the troops were cheering and congratulating the small squadron, but more for Angewomon than anyone else. The masked woman seemed to be embarrassed by the attention, especially when the orange rex, blue wolf, and scarlet raptor complimented her.

"You know, you're not bad when up to the challenged." The orange rex nodded appreciatively before turning to Sonic. "And...listen, about what happened back at camp. I just want to say...I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's nothing." Sonic waved.

"**At least he was courteous enough to apologize.**" Dark Sonic said approvingly.

"Hey, I just remembered that we never introduced ourselves!" The orange rex shouted pointedly. "My name is Agumon, the world's greatest fighter!"

"Isn't he modest?" The blue wolf said jokingly. "The name's Gaomon. You're definitely a dragon amongst beast-types, Merukimon."

"And I'm Guilmon." The scarlet raptor said cheerfully, suddenly taking in a whiff of air. "Ooh! I smell tuna casserole!"

"That's mine!" Agumon screamed.

And the Beastly Trio dashed off into the village, shoving each other out of the way to reach their fishy feast. As the last members of the Paladin Army unit entered the snow-covered village, Flamedramon brought up their rear of the troop. The flame-armored warrior stopped in front of the Sonic Team – his gaze traveled across the six soldiers. Finally, his eyes rested upon Angewomon, who did her best to avoid his gaze.

"Merukimon sure did a good job!" Storm expressed pointedly.

"She did better than good!" Marine shouted loudly. "She was fantabulous!"

"All right..." Flamedramon said suspiciously. "I'll let you join my unit. But I'm still not convinced you have what it takes to handle enemies like the Dark Army. You have a long way to go before you're even considered a worthy soldier."

"Are you kidding me?!" Sonic exclaimed exasperatedly.

"It's all right, Sonic." Angewomon said sternly. "I'll find a way to show him what I'm made of. Even if it means I have to plow my way through the entire Dark Army and Beelzemon himself!"

"I like your attitude, Merukimon." Flamedramon grinned pleasingly. "Keep that up and you may just get that chance."

Beneath her mask, Angewomon flushed at the dragon warrior's compliment – she was grateful that no one could see. Flamedramon called all of his soldiers to attention and explained their current situation for nearly twenty minutes. According to a surviving scout member, Beelzemon's troop was advancing through the mountain pass and planning to invade the Imperial City, the homestead of the Royal Knights. It was their duty to guard the mountain passage and prevent Beelzemon from reaching the city – a task easier said than done. After their briefing was completed, the local villagers had provided food and shelter for the soldiers to rest. After using the Drive Form, Sonic felt more exhausted than normal – he most likely needed more experience. But instead of being allowed to rest in a soft feathered bad, Angewomon grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back into a barn along with the rest of the team. The masked woman watched and waited until the Beastly Trio passed by before turning to the Sonic Team.

"What's up?" Silver questioned.

"I'll tell ya what's up!" Dorumon shouted gleefully, jumping out of Angewomon's mask. "This is our big chance, gang! Why captain meathead was goin' on about his stupid mission, I saw a real shady guy walkin' 'round." His clicked his claws together and smiled in a sinister manner. "I know it was Beelzemon, the sittin' duck."

"Beelzemon?!" The Sonic Team exclaimed shockingly; Angewomon gestured them to be quiet.

"But he's the leader of the Dark Army!" Sonic yelled urgently. "We have to warn Flamedramon and the others!"

"I agree." Angewomon nodded.

"Wait a minute!!" Dorumon shouted animalistic, throwing himself against the barn doors. "Everybody use their heads for a second." The Sonic Team glared down at the vulpine suspiciously. "Now, why are we here? To make use the Paladin Army sees Angewomon's – I mean, Merukimon's skills and make me a Roya – I mean, bring peace to the Digital World."

"Then what do you want us to do?" Angel questioned.

"That's the easy part." Dorumon smiled. "We go and find out what Beelzemon is up to, by ourselves. Then, if we're lucky, we can fry him up good! Though just trackin' the guy down should earn us some gold stars, that overgrown salamander will have to notice my girl!"

"Flamedramon is not a salamander!" Angewomon yelled furiously, almost as if she had been insulted. "He's a great leader and an even better warrior. I'll bet he could even take Beelzemon single-han...." She stopped midway in her ranting when she took noticed of the Sonic Team's smirks and stares. Her face red with embarrassment, the masked woman stood tall and prim. "Then again, finding Beelzemon would bring honor to the Paladin Army."

"That, and you want to impress Flamedramon, mate." Marine said playfully; Angewomon was grateful to have a mask.

"Don't worry, we'll help you out." Sonic assured.

"Now we're cookin'!" Dorumon cheered, wrapping himself around Angewomon's neckline. "I'm pretty sure I saw Beelzemon sneaking around in the cave outside the village. If we can get to him before anyone notices, we'll be honorary Knights in no time!"

Dark Sonic commented on how Dorumon seemed to continually talk about the Royal Knights, despite being one himself. The cobalt hedgehog also took notice to his Heartless half's observation and decided to watch the purple fox. Getting out of the village was much easier than one would have anticipated. When Flamedramon began assigning guard positions, Angewomon and the others jumped at the chance to watch the outer walls. For Marine, that was in a literal sense. After separating the rambunctious raccoon from Flamedramon's face, the group scurried away quickly as possible. Sonic summoned the Kingdom Key to his hands – the others followed his lead – and slowly crept into the mouth of the cave. As predictable as it seemed, a majority of the cavern had snow-covered walls with icicles hanging threateningly overhead. The Sonic Team was walking with their backs against the walls, stopping only when they reached the opening to the end of the tunnel.

"On the count of three, we all jump him." Sonic stated; the team nodded. "One....two..."

"CHARGE!!" Marine cried, bounding around the corner.

"Marine, not yet!" Sonic groaned.

"**Were you expecting anything less?**" Dark Sonic said.

But even with the overexcited child running headlong into battle, the team was fortunate enough to learn that the cavern was empty. Angewomon led the team into the open space, which was surprisingly more hospitable than the rest of the cave. Bright-colored candles were lit in pockets and a few stones with strange lettering stood between them. And at the farthest end of the room, a stone mural of four dragons was etched into the wall with a large stone text printed beneath them.

"What's this?" Sonic asked, referring to the mural.

"It looks like a shrine dedicated to the Four Great Dragons." Angewomon proclaimed, easily noticing the confusion on their faces. "The Four Great Dragons were ancient group that existed long before the Royal Knights, when human-types and beast-types existed harmoniously. They watched over the four sectors of our world and protected them with care."

"Why do I get the feeling this story doesn't end well?" Angel commented.

"One of the Great Dragons, Megidramon, threatened to destroy the existence of the Digital World." Angewomon continued. "His heart was consumed by malice and rage that spread across the lands and destroyed every living thing in its path. But the leader of the Great Dragons, Goldramon, stood against him and sealed away Megidramon's evil. The battle destroyed both of them and the Great Dagon's ceased to exist."

"And then the Royal Knights were created, right?" Storm asked.

"Not yet." Angewomon shook. "It was five hundred years before the Royal Knights were created. Until then, the Celestial Ones took charge of the protection of the Digital World. They were three angels who governed the Digital World for several hundred years."

"And something broke them up, right?" Silver added.

"Cherubimon was the only beast-type amongst the Celestial Ones." Angewomon informed. "And when he was denied the chance to change the laws to benefit the beast-types, he became paranoid, thinking the human-types weren't trustworthy. Finally, Cherubimon snapped and led the beast-types against the human-types, creating the war we're fighting in. Our god, Fanglongmon, could feel the pain of the Digital World and sent a savior – a warrior of both human and beast: Imperialdramon." She sighed heavily and bowed her head. "Though he managed to convince a large number to end the war, many refused to see his way of thinking. So he formed the Royal Knights, a group that consisted of both human-type and beast-type warriors that would protect this world."

"**But now everyone is afraid that they will fall like their predecessors.**" Dark Sonic stated. "**This world has been ravaged by war centuries before we have arrived. I'm not even sure you could fix this, Sonic.**"

"_As the Keyblade Master, I have to try._" Sonic thought determined.

"I can only hope this war ends soon." Angewomon pleaded.

"It will and you're gonna make it happen, girl!" Dorumon scowled, jumping off her shoulders. "Come on, man! where is that freaky three-eyes bugger?! I know I saw him run in here!"

"Maybe you were just seeing things." Storm shrugged.

But the purple vulpine seemed determined to find something. He started running around the cavern, ripping the candles off the walls. The Sonic Team shook their heads in displeasure and turned back towards the entrance of the cave. Sonic and Angewomon only stayed behind long enough to collect the disappointed Royal Knight. Assuring him that everything would turn out all right, Angewomon replaced him in the hair of her disguise and followed the Keyblade Master out. Unfortunately, it was never that easy. At that moment, a barrier of darkness formed at the mouth, separating Sonic and Angewomon from the rest of the group, which was followed by a thunderous rumble. While Silver and his comrades tried to break the barrier, the remainder of their team withdrew their weapons, expecting disaster to follow. None of them notice Beelzemon silently laughing at the entrance of the tunnel.

"The great Keyblade Master." Beelzemon scoffed. "I knew that freak was winding me up."

He Demon Lord turned his back and walked away, snapping his fingers loudly to echo against the vibrating walls. And from this call summoned a mound of darkness to explode in front the heroic soldiers. The newest addition to the Heartless resembled a centaur, but with a bull's legs on the bottom and an armored torso on top. The shadow beast was garbed in light-blue armor with a brilliant-red cape and carried a crooked spear in its hand. If they ever survived the encounter, Sonic would remember to record this beast in Silver's journal as an Assault Rider.

"Do you ever get the feeling that we keep walking into traps?" Sonic asked aloud.

"Ever since you showed up." Angewomon responded.

"Watch out, mates!" Marine screamed.

The Assault Rider pummeled its hooves into the ground anxiously and stampeded forward in a direct assault. Angewomon ducked away in time to avoid being crushed, but Sonic skipped of the ground and hover over the beast's head for a short moment. He swiped the Keyblade across the Assault Rider's face, but the centaur shadow raised his spear and blocked the attack with the pole. Surprised by the sudden defensive skills, the cobalt hedgehog left himself open and allowed the Heartless to push back and slam its staff into his abdomen. While Sonic smacked loudly into the wall, Angewomon jumped to her feet and swiped a silver-tipped arrow from her quiver, releasing the projectile without aim. On normal occasions, the Heartless would have been killed at that instant. However, the Assault Rider twirled its spear in a perfect circle and reflected the arrow's destination – Sonic nearly became a woman. Shaken by the experience, the masked woman fumbled with the arrows in her quiver and remained unconscious to the Assault Rider's movements. The centaur Heartless jumped off its hind legs and skipped across the cavern with its spear held forward. Fortunately enough, Sonic tackled the masked woman away to safety as the spear stabbed into the dragon mural – spearing the tallest dragon's eye.

"Ooh, I am so glad they are not here to see this." Sonic said jokingly.

"That creature is a perfect balance of offense and defense." Angewomon commented, skirting away from the Heartless.

"Nothing is perfect." Sonic said certainly. "Everything has a strength and weakness."

"**And it's strength is it's weakness.**" Dark Sonic stated.

"_Come again?_" Sonic thought confused.

"**During this fight, the Heartless has not attacked you directly.**" Dark Sonic explained. "**It has been defending itself and attacking through the same implement: its weapon. And it you remove that from the equation...**"

"_You know I'm not good at math._" Sonic replied.

"**Just get rid of that spear, you idiot!!**" Dark Sonic screamed.

The cobalt hedgehog could feel his eardrums pounding from that one. Sonic whispered his idea to Angewomon while the centaur beast finally pried its weapon from the wall. With the idea fresh in their mind, the dynamic duo confronted the Assault Rider as it once again stampeded across the cavern. Angewomon began the counterattack by knocking an arrow into her bow, releasing it with a sharp twang. As they had expected, the Assault Rider twirled his spear and reflected the projectile – Sonic shortly jumped afterwards. The cobalt hedgehog stabbed his Keyblade into the circle, causing the Assault Rider to hold his spear upside-down. The centaur Heartless tried to straighten his weapon, but Sonic pushed his foot against the base of the spear, burying the tip into the ground. It was a struggle of power and the Keyblade Master was quickly losing his ground. But that didn't matter a moment later as a silver-tipped arrow stabbed pierced its left eye and through the back of its skull. Sonic watched the Assault Rider fade away into darkness and gave a thumbs-up to Angewomon, who replaced her bow in her quiver.

"Nice fighting, Merukimon!" Sonic cheered gratefully. "You were amazing!"

"I couldn't have done it without you." Angewomon smiled.

Just then, the barrier of darkness evaporated and allowed the rest of the team to enter. Sonic was tackled into the ground by the rascally raccoon, but he didn't expect anything less.

"You guys ok?" Storm asked worried.

"Hey, I had Merukimon, didn't I?" Sonic grinned as he stood up.

"I think we should report this to Flamedramon." Angewomon said firmly. "Even thought Beelzemon wasn't here, he should still know that there are some Heartless wandering around the village."

"Please! The Dark Amy is old news!" Dorumon shouted gleefully. "We're going to tell general musclehead how thousands of Heartless stormed the cave and Merukimon took out almost every one of 'em!"

"But there was only one." Angewomon said pointedly.

"Details, details." Dorumon waved.

There was no point trying to convince the violet vulpine otherwise, but Sonic and Angewomon silently agreed to only tell Flamedramon the truth. They reached the mouth of the cave and turned the corner to enter the village. At least, what was left of the village. In the short time they were gone, the outer walls of the village had been collapsed, houses and farms were burned into the snow, and smoke covered most of the air. It was a catastrophe. But the worst wasn't seen until the Sonic Team entered the village. The village was cluttered with dead bodies and fatally wounded people – those who had survived the encounter were trying to organize everything. Soldiers were lining the dead in a straight line across the ground, but Angewomon was pleased to know that the Beastly Trio was not amongst them.

"Are you guys all right?" Flamedramon asked. Unlike most of the Paladin Army, the most he had suffered was a few scratches on his armor. "Do you need any medical attention?"

"We're fine." Angel said, panting fearfully. "What happened?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Flamedramon glared; the Sonic Team recoiled. "Beelzemon came from the path that you were supposed to be guarding. He brought an army of dark creatures with him – we didn't stand a chance."

"Which way did they go?!" Angewomon questioned urgently.

"Beelzemon dropped back for some reason and went to the summit." Flamedramon informed, looking in the direction of the mountain peak. "We can't face his army again. We need to regroup."

"Just leave him to us." Silver stated firmly. "It's our fault that he got by."

"No, it wasn't." Dorumon said sadly, exposing himself to everyone, including Flamedramon. "It was my fault. I'm the one that told you Beelzemon was hiding in the cave." He started smacking himself in self-spite. "I was so stupid! Of course it was a trap!"

"This is not any of our faults." Sonic said sternly, stopping the vulpine from his punishment. "If anyone is to blame, it's Beelzemon and the Heartless." He turned his attention to the flame-armored warrior. "You help out the villagers while we handle Beelzemon and the Heartless."

"Not happening!" Flamedramon grunted forcefully. "They took out an entire unit of soldiers! How can six inexperienced warriors stand a chance against something like that."

Flamedramon..." Angewomon said softly, looking between him and the team. "I have only known them for a short while, but I feel we can trust them. When I'm with Sonic and his friends, I feel that anything his possible." She finalized her gaze to stare directly at the dragon warrior. "You have to trust me."

The flame armored warrior was silent, but he didn't seem willing to give up without a fight. Sonic could sense a mental struggle going through his mind as he looked between the group. Would he really be willing to risk the safety of the Digital World in the hands of a collection of strangers. After looking them over twice, he seemed to have come to a decision.

"Stay safe..." Flamedramon nodded.

* * *

**Chaos and Calamity stretch farther through time. Will the history of the Digital World be doomed to repeat itself? Can the Sonic Team overcome the wicked Beelzemon? Or will the Demon Lord have the last laugh? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles! **

**Please, read and review.**


	18. Angels and Demons, Part 3

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Seventeen: Angels and Demons, Part 3

The scene opens to the pinnacle of Mt. Infinity following the destruction of the mountainside village. Beelzemon's personal army of Heartless sacked the Paladin Army when they least expected it, wiping out a large majority of the soldiers. It was unfortunate the Demon Lord had managed to distract the Keyblade Master and his companions at the time when the Heartless assaulted. And with hopes of repaying all the hearts lost to the darkness, Angewomon led her off-world friends up the snow-covered trail until reaching the only entry point into the summit. The six heroes stopped for a moment, ignoring the blistering cold, and scanned the pure-white field of snow – there were no signs of anyone having used this path in years.

"Do you think he ran away?" Storm asked hopefully.

"Beelzemon is a cold-blooded monster that shows no fear." Angewomon proclaimed spitefully. "He's not the kind of person that would just back off when the going is good."

"If that's the case, then he must be hiding somewhere." Sonic said, bowing his head thoughtfully. "Maybe he was injured in the raid and needed to heal before making an attempt on the Imperial City."

"Or maybe...." The Sonic Team jumped as Beelzemon appeared behind a cluster of snow-covered rock. "He was just waiting for a couple of idiots to play hero and actually believe they could stop me. I'll admit that you little brats have gotten lucky so far with the Heartless, but now you're going to have to deal with the real thing."

"You're gonna pay for everything, Beelzemon!" Sonic scowled as he and the others summoned their weapons. "It's six against one and you haven't got a chance at beating us! You're outnumbered!"

"I think you might want to do a recount." Beelzemon grinned.

And with a snap from the Demon Lord's clawed fingers, vast explosions of pure darkness erupted in multiple locations across the summit, covering the once-white snow in shadows. As the darkness faded, the Sonic Team formed a circle around them as an army of two new breeds of Heartless surrounded them. The first of them were relatively small with great-yellow beaks, spinning propellers on their hindquarters, and the Heartless emblem on their foreheads. Silver would later come up with the idea to call them Rapid Thrusters. The second of the new species was a tower-like creature with red/purple skin texture, a circular face at the base of its structure, and the Heartless emblem stamped in the center. Due to their shocking abilities that would be learned later, the Sonic Team unanimously named them Bolt Towers.

"I gotta say, this is getting kinda predictable." Angel commented dryly.

"There are too many of them!" Angewomon shouted in distress. "We can't take them all!"

"What kinda attitude is that, mate?!" Marine exclaimed eagerly, bouncing on her heels. "I'll betcha we can take out the whole lot of them lickety-split!" She suddenly jumped on Sonic's shoulders. "Bet I can take out more Heartless than you can!"

"You're on." Sonic laughed.

"**Don't feel insulted when you lose.**" Dark Sonic taunted; Sonic groaned inwardly.

"Ya think you're so tough." Beelzemon snarled, clenching the handle of his pistol temptingly. "Well, let's see how ya like these odds! Attack, you ungrateful cretins!"

More than likely because of his darker half, Sonic had the impression that the Heartless would have loved more than anything to attack their commanding officer. They remained perfectly still for an entire minute – the Demon Lord looked momentarily nervous – until a faint glow of red shadowed the Heartless. Surprisingly enough, Angewomon was the only one amongst the group that noticed and catapulted her silver-tipped arrow to the nearest one. The moment one of their numbers was eliminated the Heartless no longer showed any hesitation and launched themselves at the Sonic Team, forcing a separation between them. Sonic was forced to fight his way through the sea of darkness, lashing his Keyblade at every instant the Heartless came within range. He occasionally tried to search for his partners, but the mounding walls of Rapid Thrusters and Bolt Towers completely obscured his view of the summit. A row of six Rapid Thrusters turned their tails and aimed their twirling propellers at the Keyblade Master, dive-bombing him in a backwards fashion. Sonic used the snow to his advantage and slipped backwards on his feet to carefully avoid the Heartless stabbing close to his feet. After the last one had made its attempt, Sonic jumped overhead of the Rapid Thrusters and sliced them in a perfect line against each other. Six down, over a two hundred left to go. The cobalt hedgehog turned on his heels and sliced at two Rapid Thrusters trying to sneak from behind, eliminating them with ease, and raised his Keyblade to block one attacking from the right.

"_Say, does this remind you of anything?_" Sonic thought nonchalantly.

"**It kind of reminds me of the army we faced at Heartless world.**" Dark Sonic answered equally calm. "**But these newer Heartless are weaker in comparison. Maybe if they threw in a couple of Behemoths and Invisible, this would be interesting.**"

"_How about a pair of Darksides?_" Sonic added playfully, kicking a Bolt Tower in the face. "_I haven't seen one of those since we fought Mephiles on Destiny Island._"

"**Or why not just throw him in as well?**" Dark Sonic chuckled.

The cobalt hedgehog couldn't resist it – he laughed openly at the thought of the Seeker of Darkness actually siding with someone as weak as Beelzemon. They Heartless seemed to grow more agitated by the Keyblade Master's laughter and double their efforts to destroy him. Eight Bolt Towers formed a barricade around the cobalt hedgehog while the large quantity of Rapid Thrusted loomed ominously overhead with their beaks pointed downwards. At the moment they moved, Sonic raised the body of the Keyblade over his head in a futile effort to throw them aside. While this did great to protect his head, many of the propeller birds managed to scrap his arms, knees, and back. After the first wave had passed, Sonic tried to use this time to catch his breath – he never gets off this easy. All at once, the Bolt Towers turned their heads to face the Keyblade Master and, amazingly, launched their faces like cannonballs. Being hit from all sides simultaneously, the Keyblade Master screamed out of pure agony, unknowingly dropping his Keyblade into the snow. The Bolt Towers recalled their faces and allowed Sonic to drop to his knees with his nerves still rattling from the attack.

"O-oh g-g-god." Sonic said shakily. "I....I c-can't...."

"**You can't give up that easy.**" Dark Sonic said seriously. "**You're the Keyblade Master. You've survived worse than this.**"

"_Easy for you to say._" Sonic groaned inwardly. "_You're safely tucked away in my heart._"

"**What would Espio say if he saw you groveling in the snow?**" Dark Sonic said tauntingly.

The mention of his longtime rival seemed to do exactly as the Heartless persona had predicted. With a flare of burning determination in his eyes, Sonic snatched the Keyblade out of the white powder and jumped to his feet as the Rapid Thrusters tried for a second assault. As they barred down on Sonic, the Keychain of the Kingdom Key reverberated with an unseen power - the Keychain ability was active. To catch the following, you needed to see everything in slow motion. Sonic moved in a blur of blue and silver as his Keyblade slashed across the Rapid Thrusters at super sonic speed. Within three seconds time, all of the flying Heartless had been obliterated and Sonic stood poised with a proud smirk on his face. The Bolt Towers attempted to attack once more, but by that time, it was already too late. Using his Keychain ability, Sonic stabbed his Keyblade into each of the towering Heartless' faces before they were even given a chance to realize what had occurred. And with all his enemies eliminated, Sonic was given a clear view of his surroundings. Amazingly enough, the entire summit was clear of any Heartless threat and the Sonic Team emerged with nothing more than a few scratches. The team quickly gathered and congratulated each other.

"Nice work, you guys." Angewomon complimented. "You're the best I've ever seen."

"What were you expecting?" Sonic grinned arrogantly.

"Don't get cocky, Sonic." Angel said seriously, pointing to the mountain peak. "We're not out of the woods yet."

Indeed, the heroes were far from securing their victory. Though his army had been brutally decimated, the Demon Lord was not willing to surrender without a fight. Instead, the Demon Lord withdrew both his pistols from their holsters and summoned another army of Rapid Thrusters from the darkness. Gunshots echoing through the air, Beelzemon led the charge against the Sonic Team with an outrageous war cry. The heroes were already exhausted from their earlier fight and weren't sure if they had the strength left to challenge another army. But in a bizarre twist, the Beastly Trio arrived just in time with a burning-red rocket shaped like a dragon.

"What is that?" Silver questioned.

"What? You've never seen a Dragon Missile before?" Agumon snorted, planting the rocket into the snow. "One shot of this and Beelzemon will be sleeping with his demon buddies."

"But if they miss, there won't be a second chance." Angewomon whispered to herself. "We need to be sure that..."

After witnessing a momentary glint of the sun against her arrowhead, Angewomon looked down and saw the reflection of the mountain peak overhead. Looking back at the real structure, the masked woman formulated a plan – one that was sure that handle all of their problems. Much to the surprise of the party, Angewomon shoved Agumon to the side – she apologized swiftly – captured the rocket, and dashed ahead several yards before shoving the rocket into the snow. Dorumon jumped out of her mask, curious of Angewomon's plan while she aimed the rocket at Beelzemon. What he didn't realize was that the Demon Lord wasn't her target – the mountain was. Once adjusting the aim correctly, she searched her pockets for something to light the weapon. That was the real problem.

"Ooh, why'd I have to forget matches at this time?" Angewomon moaned.

"If you're going to do somethin', do it quick!" Dorumon cried frantically, clutching his tail.

"Wait a minute." Angewomon murmured thoughtfully, eyeing the vulpine's tail. "Your fur contains pure iron, right?"

"Yeah..." Dorumon nodded slowly.

Angewomon didn't waste time explaining and threw the violet vulpine on the head of the rocket. Dorumon was a nervous wreck, which was only amplified when Beelzemon was discovered only to be two yards away. The masked woman was fortunate enough to find a rock in the snow and brushed it against Dorumon's tail, creating sparks to light the fuse. Now only time dictated the verdict of the battle. The fuse was reaching its ending point and Beelzemon was close enough to shoot Angewomon between the eyes. The Sonic Team and Beastly Trio watched in shock as the deafening bang echoed throughout the mountain. Angewomon's Dragon Missile hand between Beelzemon's trigger finger when the Demon Lord was only feet away, the rocket whizzed over his shoulder and vaulted towards the peak.

"Ya missed!" Dorumon screamed from above. "How could ya miss? He was three feet in front of you!"

His words were silent as the rocket collided with the peak. Beelzemon watched the display with Angewomon, laughed tauntingly at her pathetic attempts, and aimed the shaft of his weapon directly into her left eye. But then, something happened. Heroes and Heartless alike felt the shudder of the mountain as the peak that Angewomon had attack created a thunderous avalanche in its wake. That's when the Demon Lord realized her plan. She wasn't aiming for him, she was planning to wipe out everything at once. Growling in anger, Beelzemon fired his pistol at the masked woman, but Angewomon had moved fast enough that only her mask was shredded. With fast reflexes, the skilled warrior pulled an arrow from her quiver and stabbed Beelzemon in his leg, earning a pleasing growl of pain. She kicked the distracted demon in the face and made a dash for safety as the avalanche crushed the assaulting Heartless and made its way towards the heroes. The Sonic Team and Beastly Trio had already made their way to safety, but the avalanche was quickly sneaking up on Angewomon.

"We've got to help her!" Storm cried panicking.

"Silver, can't you use you telepathy to grab her?" Sonic asked hopefully.

"If I do, it'll only slow her down and then she'll be dead for sure." Silver said, feeling rather useless.

There didn't seem to be anything that could help Angewomon at this point. That was before Flamedramon suddenly jumped past the group and dashed in the direction of the masked woman and the approaching disaster. Out of pure instincts, Angewomon dived into the flame-armored warrior's arms and Flamedramon raised his fist at the rampaging snow. The dragon leader surprised everyone as he summoned a thin column of raging fire from his claws, splitting the avalanche in two. After waiting for the danger to pass, the Sonic Team and Beastly Trio ducked around the corner and sighed in relief as the two heroes were spotted safely out of harms way. Beelzemon was nowhere to bee seen.

"That was some great shooting, mate!" Marine cheered.

"Let's hear it for Merukimon, hero of the Digital World!" Gaomon shouted; the other followed his example in a celebratory fashion.

"You did great, Merukimon." Flamedramon sighed, allowing the masked hero to leave his arms. "I should never have doubted you from the start. From now on, you have my trust."

Angewomon smiled gratefully as she looked up to her commanding officer. Everything went tragically wrong from there. The gathered heroes ceased their cheering when they realized Angewomon's mask had been blown to pieces and revealed the true face behind it. The true hero of the Digital World was a human female with skin pure as snow, golden hair that glimmered in the sun, and ocean-blue eyes that stared at them with curiosity. Dorumon had emerged from the result of the snow avalanche, complaining widely at Angewomon's choice of tactics, when he realized that her true identity had been revealed. The woman in question didn't realize this herself until she saw the shredded remains of her mask in the snow.

"Flamedramon, I can explain." Angewomon said pleadingly.

"You're...a human-type?" Flamedramon said shockingly, slowly transforming to a sneer. He sharply snapped back to the rest of the Sonic Team. "You all knew, didn't you? You knew Merukimon was a human-type in disguise." The off-world heroes stared at the ground awkwardly; his suspicions were confirmed. "I can't believe you lied to me."

"But...it's ok." Guilmon said nervously. "She saved us all – she beat Beelzemon."

"That doesn't matter!" Flamedramon snapped. "We still have rules! And any human-type that enters into our unit is treason and dishonors every thing we stand for. The proper punishment...is death."

The surrounding animals gasped in horror. Was he really willing to kill someone who had risked her own neck to protect the Digital Worlds and the beast-types? That answer was made clear as Flamedramon ignited his fists and turned to Angewomon with an expression of deep loathing. Sonic tried to jump in and save her, but Agumon and Gaomon quickly pushed him back to stop his interference – they looked as if they regretted the decision. And it one swift swipe, Flamedramon thrusted his fist forward and unleashed a blistering fireball at the innocent woman. But just when the heroes were ready to believe she was dead, they were all stunned once realizing that the fire-armored dragon had missed her face by an inch, melting the snow behind her. Angewomon gapped at the spot and looked back to the dragon warrior, who had turned his back.

"You saved the lives of my people..." Flamedramon murmured. "And I have spared your own. We're even now."

With nothing left to be said, Flamedramon marched off the summit, commanding his soldiers to follow in his stead. Agumon, Gaomon, and Guilmon gave a meaningful looked to Angewomon before reluctantly following their leader. The Sonic Team was alone now, tired and miserable.

* * *

Ten minutes following the great battle against Beelzemon's army, the Sonic Team was waiting around the corner of the summit while Angewomon changed her outfit. With her identity blow, she no longer needed to hind behind her disguise. Sonic attempted to sneak a peek twice, but Angel and Marine slapped him silly both times. Finally, the female archer emerged from the corner. Without the disguise, the team had to agree that she was a stunningly beautiful woman. Her attire consisted of a long-sleeved white shirt with a golden ring on the back – the sleeves doubled as fingerless gloves – a pair of dark-tan pants, and knee-high grey boots with golden ring restraints. Her quiver and bow were still holstered to her back.

"I just want to say thank you for everything you have done." Angewomon said gratefully. "I'm really sorry if I got you in trouble."

"Eh, it's no big deal." Sonic shrugged. "We get into trouble everyday."

"**Try every minute.**" Dark Sonic commented.

"So Meruki..." Storm began, stopping only when realizing his mistake. "I mean, Angewomon....what're you going to do now?"

"The only thing I can do: go back home." Angewomon sighed. "I've done everything I can and stopped Beelzemon from taking over. With any luck, that will be enough to end this senseless war. I just wonder what my tribe will say when they find out that I helped the beast-types."

"If they're gonna cause you grief, then gonna have ta' going through me." Dorumon stated strongly. "After all, we're best friends. And there's no way I'm lettin' my girl get away that easily."

"They'll have to go through us, too." Sonic nodded.

"Thanks, you're all wonderful friends." Angewomon smiled appreciatively. "Now, let's get off this mountain. I'm starting to get a chill from up here."

The Sonic Team nodded in unison and followed the trail down the mountain, planning their next move. While Angewomon was mostly going to suffer the scorn of her village, she was happy to know that she had made a difference in the world. But at the same time, Sonic and his friends needed to worry about the Order and the next world they would travel to. But if you haven't learned by now, nothing – I mean NOTHING – is ever that easy. Not even a minute after they left the summit, Marine was suddenly urged to look over the edge of the cliff down to the field of snow below them. The moment following, she almost wished she didn't. A clawed hand emerged from the white powder and raggedly crawled out of the covering to reveal the Demon Lord, Beelzemon. Judging by the outrageous expression on his face as he kneeled into the snow, he was more pissed than any time in his life. The Demon Lord snapped his head to the sky and issued an inhumane roar that echoed across the valley. This caught the heroes' attention as they looked down, they watched in marvel as Beelzemon hunched over, seemingly out of pain, and his back ripped open to reveal a pair of black-raven wings. The Demon Lord didn't even waste time to admire his new addition before gliding off the mountain in the direction of the visible city.

"Did anyone know he could do that?" Angel questioned.

"He's heading for the Imperial City!" Angewomon exclaimed frightfully. "We've got to warn Flamedramon and the others!"

"What for?" Dorumon snorted disdainfully. "They don't need our help. Let them clean up their mess."

"Dorumon, as a Royal Knight, it is your duty to protect everyone." Angewomon proclaimed.

"Angewomon...." Dorumon sighed. "It's time I told ya the truth: I was never a Royal Knight. I only said I was so that I could convince ya to join the Paladin Army and stop Beelzemon so that I could take the credit for guidin' you." He looked up to his partner with sad eyes. "You were tryin' to help the Digital World; I was just tryin' to help myself."

"Then let's change that." Sonic said softly, kneeling to the vulpine. "I don't know if you'll ever become a Royal Knight, but I think you should do whatever your heart says is right. If you listen to your heart, there's nothing you can't do."

The violet vulpine was touched by the Keyblade Master's words; even blow his nose into his tail. Dorumon may not have been a Royal Knight or even become one his entire life, but that didn't mean he wasn't important. Flashing a mischievous grin, the violet vulpine bounced off Sonic's head and curled around Angewomon's shoulders.

"Let's go fry that sucker!" Dorumon cackled.

* * *

The scene alternates at the base of Mt. Infinity and into the Imperial City of the Royal Knights. Pushing through most of the buildings, shops, and households that existed around the main palace, we set out sights on Imperialdramon's residence in the heart of the city. A silver-coated palace that reached several miles in length and three tall towers increasing the already impressive length of the palace. The tallest of the three towers flashed with a ruby-red jewel in the center that displayed the coat of arms that represented the Royal Knights. The courtyard surrounding the palace was equally impressive in terms of size, able to hold all who lived in the city as their heroes walked through the gates. Flamedramon, the Beastly Trio, and the remainder of the Paladin Army marched their way through the sea of admiring people, output from their latest endeavor. Agumon, Gaomon, and Guilmon were sad not that Angewomon had deceived them, but because they had lost a friend they were beginning to admire. Flamedramon held an impartial stare in his eyes, but you could sense the pain radiating from him.

"Flamedramon!" The Paladin Army stopped in their step as the Sonic Team struggled through the crowds; The Beastly Trio shoved the crowd aside to assist them. "Flamedramon, Beelzemon is alive! We think he's already in the city!"

"And why should I believe you this time?" Flamedramon scowled.

"But...she's telling the truth." Silver stated.

"I didn't ask you!" Flamedramon snapped.

"Would we have come back if we were lying?" Angewomon said sternly, forcing the flame-based warrior to watch. "You said you trusted Merukimon. Why is Angewomon any different?"

The Sonic Team and the Beastly Trio looked back and forth between them, wondering the outcome. Both soldiers glared back at one another, but showed no signs that they were going to back down. Finally, Flamedramon lifted his claw, seemingly to attack the human-type deceiver. But instead, he waved his claw to his troops and swiped it to the crowd in urgency.

"Spread out and find Beelzemon!" Flamedramon order fiercely; Angewomon sighed in relief. "If he's hiding somewhere in the city, we have to stop him before he reaches Imperialdramon! The Royal Knights are on missions, so we're the last line of defense!"

"I don't think that's gonna work, captain." Guilmon commented.

The flame-based warrior stared at the crimson raptor, confused by his unexpected defiance. But his answer was made quite clear as he pointed to the left tower and spotted a shadow hanging on the ledge of the third level. Beelzemon grinned down upon the Paladin Army before spreading his wings and diving towards the entrance of the palace. The heroes were prepared to follow him until a vibrating uproar of terrified screams issued from the crowd surrounding them. The Demon Lord's influence had run deep in the hearts of the citizens and transformed their darkness into a horde of Heartless. They couldn't risk any more time fighting Heartless while Imperialdramon was in danger and apparently, Flamedramon though the same thing.

"We'll handle these things!" Flamedramon growled. "Just protect Imperialdramon!"

Angewomon almost defied him, but knew her duties were more important at the moment. While the Sonic Team pushed through the crowd and made their way up to the palace, the Keyblade Master hesitantly looked back. Surprisingly enough, the troops were doing just fine. Flamedramon turned the Heartless to cinders, Agumon spewed massive fireballs from his throat, Gaomon performed a series of complicated boxing moves, and Guilmon ripped away the Heartless with his claws. They were doing just fine.

"No time to get sidetracked." Angel said, snapping her friend out of his trance. "We've got a world to save."

In a few short minutes, the Sonic Team had climbed up the final steps and arrived just in time as Beelzemon took the ruler of this world hostage. Imperialdramon seemed to be a mixture of both dragon and human qualities, which was present by his body structure, dragon wings and tail. A majority of his body was barely seen behind the suit of paladin-silver armor with gold accents, golden claws on his wrists, and the crown pressed into his helmet. He seemed relatively calm even as Beelzemon flashed a silver sword – most like Imperialdramon's – close to his throat.

"You will bow to me now!" Beelzemon growled frustratingly.

"No matter how much the wind howls, the mountain will never bow to it." Imperialdramon said wisely. "And it doesn't matter what harm befalls to me because there will always be someone who will take my place and destroy you."

"You arrogant little worm!" Beelzemon snarled. "That's it, I'm ending this now."

The Demon Lord pulled back the Omni Sword for the fatal blow, but Angewomon's speed was greater than his own. In the split second she had an opening; the skilled archer whipped out her bow and released an arrow with a sharp twang. The silver-tipped projectile stabbed into Beelzemon's wrist – he growled at the pain – and forced him to drop the weapon. With the opportunity present, Imperialdramon kicked his adversary to the side and spread his wings to escape. After composing himself, Beelzemon tried to chase after him, but another arrow stabbed his wing to the ground. Now thoroughly pissed, the Demon Lord ripped out the arrow and faced his enemies, who had drawn their weapons.

"You have interfered with my vengeance for the last time." Beelzemon sneered. "And for that, I'll paint the world with your blood."

* * *

**Demon Lord: Beelzemon**

Beelzemon wasted no time in commencing the battle, knowing full well that he wasn't the patient type. The Demon Lord withdrew his pistols from their holsters and instantaneously fired them at random times. The Sonic Team swiftly jumped to either side as the row of bullets snapped at the ground between them. Even as the team dispersed, Beelzemon seemed to be focusing his fire more on Sonic and Angewomon than anyone else. This could probably be an advantage. Realizing her on immunity to firearms, Angel curled herself into a ball as she rolled between Angewomon's legs. The Demon Lord was firing all his rounds at the pink puffball, but his bullets would only be reflected off her furry surface. So when she came close enough, Beelzemon lifted his leg and kicked Angel with his boot, sending the pink experiment smashing through the steel wall of the palace.

"Four years of playing high school football and now I realized I should have gone for soccer." Beelzemon cackled.

"You're already way past realizing your own mistakes." Silver stated sternly.

The Demon Lord turned on his heels and aimed his pistol backwards, only to have the weapon be shattered by a bolt of lightning. The Babylon Mystic carried an electrical current through his body and focused it through his staff, releasing the energy through the dragon's teeth. Beelzemon still had one pistol left, but even he knew that it couldn't move faster than the speed of light. With that in mind, Beelzemon spread his wings and took off into the skies, narrowly avoiding the second surge. The Demon Lord glided ominously over the battlefield like an overgrown vulture waiting for its prey to perish. Silver stabbed his staff into the air multiple times, expelling another bolt of lightning, but missed at every opportunity. Beelzemon was simply too far to hit. With deadly accuracy, Beelzemon's aim was ture as he pulled the trigger of his pistol and stabbed into the left leg of the hedgehog, throwing him down into the ground. And before Silver could give himself the chance to stand, Beelzemon dropped from the sky and slammed his boot into the hedgehog's spine.

"Ya should have learned by now." Beelzemon cackled wickedly. "I'm the best there is!"

"But not the smartest!" Storm grunted, catching the Demon Lord off guard as he was forced into a strong bear hug. "You can't cause any trouble if you can't move."

"It's pretty funny if you're calling me the dumb one." Beelzemon sniggered.

As one would have learned by now, villains never ply by the rules. Beelzemon raised his foot forward and swung it backwards like a pendulum, striking in the one place where men are most vulnerable. With a high-pitched squeal of pain, Storm involuntarily released his prison, allowing the dark menace the chance he needed. With a trace of vindictiveness in his eyes, Beelzemon swiped the shield off the albatross's back and slammed the steel weapon over his head. Storm was effectively knocked out and dropped to the ground on his beak – the Demon Lord threw the shield aside. Beelzemon once again withdrew his pistol and aimed it at the back of the bird's skull, but was once again interrupted.

"Say away, you big meanie!" Marine cried.

The Demon Lord looked over with a scowl, which was dramatically transformed to a look of sheer shock. The rascally raccoon transferred her energy through her mystic orb and released it into the form of a stampede of green rhinos. Beelzemon was so shocked from the tactic that he didn't even try to fly away. The emerald rhinos stabbed their horns into the Demon Lord and charged into the steel wall, forming an explosion of smoke in its wake.

"Yay! I beat him!" Marine cheered. The celebration only lasted until the mystic orb was knocked out of her hand and Beelzemon appeared, lifting the raccoon by his throat. "Uh...hiya, mate?"

"You got some moxie, kid." Beelzemon compliment; Marine grinned. "I hate moxie!"

The rascally raccoon shivered frightfully as he once more withdrew his pistol and pressed the shaft directly between her eyes. The Demon Lord's finger twitched to pull the trigger when his greatest fear was realized. A silver-tipped arrow flew out of nowhere and smashed the handheld weapon into multiple pieces. Throwing the raccoon aside, Beelzemon turned and faced Angewomon with Dorumon standing tall on her shoulders.

"If you wanna fight, you'll have to go through us!" Dorumon exclaimed bravely.

"A human-type and a beast-type?" Beelzemon muttered strangely. "Working together? That's just not right."

"Human-types and Beast-types can work together in harmony." Angewomon proclaimed passionately. "At first, we may seem different from each other. But deep down, we all have a light in our hearts that bonds us together."

"So if you wanna get to my girl, ya have to kill me, too." Dorumon glared.

"I'll have great pleasure in killing a traitor." Beelzemon said wickedly.

Stretching his wings once more, the Demon Lord once again took to the skies. But this time, he wasn't alone. In an amazing turn of events, Angewomon ripped eight holes into the back of her shirt, revealing the angelic wings growing from her spine. The moment she touched the skies, Angewomon withdrew a silver-tipped arrow from her quiver and pulled back the string on her bow. But before she could release the hold, Beelzemon swooped in front, twisted in midair, and kicked the bow out of her hand and watched it fall back to the ground. The dark-winged Demon Lord and the angelic-winged heroine grappled each other by the hands, struggling to see who would be dominant in their aerial battle. It was painfully obvious that Beelzemon was the strongest of the duo and Angewomon would be needing help. Fortunately enough, that particular verity of assistance was sitting on her shoulder. While Beelzemon was slowly dragging her enemy to the ground, Dorumon jumped between them and opened his jaw as far as possible in the Demon Lord's face. Not a moment too soon, a dense cannonball was expelled from the vulpine's throat and smashed Beelzemon's face from close contact. The Demon Lord dropped from the sky – droplets of blood flew across the air – and slammed into the roof of the palace.

"Yeah, that's how we do it old school!" Dorumon cheered.

"I wouldn't be so hasty, Dorumon." Angewomon murmured warily.

"Ah, what's he gonna do?" Dorumon said nonchalantly. "That ugly freak can't touch my girl."

It was a natural fact that Dorumon was never right. With one of his eyes still bleeding from the outrageous assault, Beelzemon stood to his knees and ripped a piece of the metallic roof with his claws. And before Angewomon realized his plan, the Demon Lord tossed the ripped metal and amazingly snapped two of the angel's wings. Angewomon and Dorumon were hurtled downwards into the courtyard, where the Paladin Army and Heartless were still locked in battle. The duo smashed through the roof of an abandoned cart, landing in a cache of festival fireworks.

"This isn't working, Dorumon." Angewomon groaned, pushing away a particularly large firework. Beelzemon is just too strong. We can't take him on with strength alone."

"I know, girl, I just...." Dorumon started. All of a sudden, a mischievous grin crossed his expression as he looked over the fireworks. "Hey, girl, ya wouldn't happen to have a lighter on ya?"

Angewomon started around and grinned with equal wickedness. Back at the palace, Beelzemon had regained his composure and tried to snap his wing back into place, but the feathered limb was now useless. Without hesitation, he ripped the worthless additions off his back and tossed them aside just as Sonic flipped onto the roof across from him. The cobalt hedgehog had his Keyblade ready for battle, but Beelzemon had lost all of his artillery in the fight.

"You're finished, Beelzemon." Sonic proclaimed.

"The fight's not over until the fat lady sings." Beelzemon recited.

"Hey, there's no need to bring you mom into this." Sonic sniggered.

"**I don't believe it, but you actually came up with a decent joke.**" Dark Sonic laughed.

Beelzemon apparently did not find the comment very humorous. The Demon Lord extended his claws and rampaged ahead while making a stab for the Keyblade Master's throat. In the end, the Demon Lord only discovered that his razor-sharp nails were stabbed into the roof while Sonic rolled beneath his legs. Once jumping back to his feet, Sonic kicked off and pressed is heel into the back of Beelzemon's head, throwing him off balance and landing on his face. The Keyblade Master grinned victoriously at his feat, but that was before Beelzemon's tail grasped his ankle and tripped the hedgehog backwards. Before attempting to jump back up, Sonic discovered the Demon Lord looming overhead with his claws motioning towards his throat. That always seems to be a favorite for the villains. But at the last second, Sonic gathered his breath and spat directly into the Demon Lord's third eye. Beelzemon was distracted by the unorthodox tactic and allowed Sonic the chance to stand and swing his Keyblade at the Demon Lord's chest. Unfortunately, Beelzemon still had one working eye left and used it to target the oncoming attack. The Demon Lord grasped the Keyblade by the hilt, forced it out of Sonic's hand, and threw it aside to leave the cobalt hedgehog defenseless. Sonic would have called back his weapon, but Beelzemon lifted him off the ground and into a bear hug in an attempt to snap the hedgehog's spine.

"I'm gonna break you, rat!" Beelzemon snarled. "And Then I'll break that little bitch, too!"

"Not this time, Beelzemon!" Sonic stated defiantly. "This time, we break you! Ready, guys!"

"I am ready, baby!"

The Demon Lord snapped his head backwards – his eyes fearful at the scene playing out. Angewomon had carried Dorumon back onto the roof, but with an extra large Dragon Missile strapped to his back. Without a wasted moment, Angewomon scratched a rock against the vulpine's metallic fur and launched both Dorumon and the rocket across the skyline. While the Demon Lord was distracted, Sonic pressed hiss boots into Beelzemon's chest and kicked his way out of his grip, equally pushing him forward. Staggering slightly, the Demon Lord watched horrifically as the missile smashed into his chest and carried him across the rooftop – Dorumon had untied himself a while back. And with a lasting gaze of pure terror, Beelzemon and the rocket made contact with the tower – a shower of colored lights filled the sky.

"Told ya we could handle him." Dorumon grinned.

"Nice touch...Royal Knight." Sonic smiled.

**Beelzemon: Defeated**

* * *

Ten minutes following the final defeat of Beelzemon, the Heartless had vanished without a trace and the Paladin Army had emerged in victory. At this moment, Angewomon, Dorumon, and the Sonic Team stood in line for Imperialdramon with Flamedramon and the Beastly Trio watched from the background. The paladin-armored hybrid nodded appreciatively to all the heroes until stopping at Angewomon with a serious expression.

"I've heard a great deal about you, Angewomon." Imperialdramon said sternly. "You stole the sacred weapons of your tribe, ran away from your village, impersonated a beast in a beast-type army, deceived your commanding officer, shamed the entire Paladin Army, dishonored your tribe's name, and even destroyed my palace."

"**Gee, there's no need to thank us.**" Dark Sonic said sarcastically. "**We just save your life is all.**"

"And more importantly..." Imperialdramon, suddenly calm and gentle. "You have saved us all."

Angewomon flushed at the compliment, but was even more stunned at what happened next. Imperialdramon, founder of the Royal Knights and ruler of the Digital World, got to his knees and bowed his head. As if that wasn't enough, Flamedramon, the Beastly Trio, and soon the entire Imperial City were bowing in honor of the Sonic Team and their friends.

"You know, I could get use to this." Angel smiled arrogantly, waving to the audience.

"Flamedramon, my sword." Imperialdramon commanded. The flame-armored warrior bowed and presented the paladin sword to its owner, who took it gently. "This is the Omni Sword, a weapon granted to me by Fanglongmon himself to ensure peace and prosperity to the world." And bowed and held out the sword for Angewomon to take. "And now, it is yours."

"I don't need it." Angewomon smiled, requesting the Royal Knight to stand. "All I want is to know that the human-types and beast-types can live together in peace." She pet Dorumon affectionately. "Just like we can."

"I will make sure of it." Imperialdramon nodded.

"Angewomon..." Flamedramon; the archer flushed at the mentioning of her name. "Sonic, Silver, Storm, Angel, Marine. I just want to say...thank you."

"Is that all?" Imperialdramon chuckled. "That will never do, Flamedramon. If you wish to win the affections of the Digital World's greatest hero, you'll need to be a bit more eloquent than that."

"Y-your majesty!" Flamedramon exclaimed embarrassingly.

"Think I can get an autograph?" Sonic asked teasingly.

"Thanks for everything, Sonic." Dorumon said appreciatively. "I may not have become a Royal Knight, but it's just good to know that my girl is safe and sound."

"I've heard a lot about you from Omnimon, Dorumon." Imperialdramon stated to the vulpine. "He says you are very skill and determined, but a bit arrogant and selfish. I think your bonding with Angewomon has changed your heart. And – if it's all right – I would like to invite you to join the Royal Knights."

The violet vulpine stared at the paladin leader with his eyes bulging and his mouth agape. He didn't seem capable of forming the right words, so he did the best he could: he fainted. The surrounding party laughed and Imperialdramon took his actions as a 'yes'. Everything was as it should be. But then all of a sudden, the Omni Sword in Imperialdramon's hands resonated with a familiar glow and drifted lightly into the air. Sonic knew what came next. Holding his Keyblade in front of him, Sonic's mind wandered into another dimension, where only the sword's light shined. The Omni Sword emitted a beam of light into the sky and formed into the shape of a keyhole. Sonic thrusted his chosen weapon forward and emitted a beam of light to strike at the Keyhole, unlocking the next gateway. The Keyblade Master's mind was sharply thrusted back into reality.

"Guess it's about time we got moving." Storm shrugged.

"You shall be missed greatly, friends." Imperialdramon said kindly.

Is it...ok if we come back to visit?" Sonic asked uncertainly.

"You'll always be welcomed here." Angewomon nodded. She reached out and took Sonic's hand, placing a dragon-shaped keychain in his palm. "Take this with you yo remember us by."

"We look forward to your return." Flamedramon said.

"You two play nice while we're gone." Sonic smirked evilly.

W-watch it, soldier!" Flamedramon screamed with a flushed expression.

Imperialdramon, the Beastly Trio, and the Sonic laughed openly at the embarrassment present for both Angewomon and Flamedramon. After waving good bye to their friends and congratulating Dorumon on his new position – he woke up momentarily – the heroes went back to their adventures in the stars.

* * *

**The strength of one's hearts can make dreams possible. What new worlds will the Sonic Team discover in their travels? How far have the Heartless reached in their time? And what is the Order's next move? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

**On a side note, I have heard word that a dear friend of mine, Dark Maelstrom, is feeling that his stories are not as liked as they once were. People, if you like my stories, then you are going to like his. If you don't know this, he and I are like rivals and always pushing each other to make the other better. So please give him a chance and you'll learn that he is an outstanding visionary. And if that doesn't convince you....**

**Angel: Watch or I'll rip your eyes out!!!!**


	19. Tears in the Rain, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Eighteen: Tears in the Rain, Part 1

The scene opens to the Corridors of Space shortly following the victory held in the Digital World. Though Silver had regained some of his old swagger about not meddling in other worlds, the Sonic Team had learned to blankly ignore him at this point. They've already caused trouble in over twenty worlds so far, so there was no real point in trying to keep things on the down low. At this time, Silver was trying to calculate their nearest route, Marine was with a cattail for some odd reason, Angel and Storm were trapped in a game of poker – the experiment obviously cheated – and Sonic was sitting around with his thoughts. And by his thoughts, I mean the darker persona.

"_Finds anything unusual about that second heart?_" Sonic asked hopefully.

"**It's just the same thing.**" Dark Sonic responded. "**I'm trying to look further into it, but the light it presents is too strong for me to come even close. It's nothing like your hearts – I sense no darkness in it.**"

"_Didn't Amy already leave me?_" Sonic blinked cluelessly. "_So if it isn't Amy, then who?_"

The Keyblade Master continued to ponder over this as the group passed by a world that Silver deemed unnecessary. But the cobalt hedgehog just took once glance of the unusual world and suddenly felt that he was needed there. His chest tightened with anxiety that it was almost painful, delivering a sharp pain to his mind. Sonic moaned weakly as the stabbing fleeing continued until his foot finally slipped sideways of his Gear, nearly losing him into the void of space. Luckily enough, Angel and Storm were situated just below him and caught the hedgehog as he landed between them.

"What happened?" Angel asked concerned. "Please tell me you didn't have another melted cheese sandwich."

"I haven't had one in a year." Sonic snapped indigently. "I think that world over there might be worth investigating. I can't explain it, but my heart feels like we need to be there."

"Well...you heart's never been wrong before." Silver noted thoughtfully. "All right, let's check it out."

* * *

The scene alternates to the surface of the strange new world, where the rain was beating down on the Sonic Team. The new world was an industrialized city that formed from millions of pipelines, multiple levels of streets, and immensely large towers that could pierce the storm clouds. This city was just as depressing even without the perpetual rainfall. From the moment the water drops touched the Sonic Team, they learned that the Gaia Brothers have placed much more into their clothing than expected. Their clothes adapted to match their environment into the form of rain cloaks with their own matching colors: blue for Sonic, grey for Storm, purple for Silver, green for Marine, and pink for Angel. The Sonic Team pulled up their hoods as Angel stared up into the endless sea of clouds.

"I feel so sad." The pink experiment murmured. "It's as if the whole world is crying."

"It feels awfully depressing around here." Storm commented, staring up and down the streets. "I wonder where all the people went."

"I wonder who lives here." Sonic said.

Not even two second following, a thunderous roar exploded across the city, easily overlapping the pattering rain. The beast sounded nothing like a Heartless, but it didn't sound close to a human either. Marine and Angel jumped into Sonic's arms while the Keyblade Master and teacher jumped into Storm's arms, who quickly climbed a stone statue. The hairs on the back of Sonic's neck were standing on end – Dark Sonic sweat-drop at the reaction.

"**I am embarrassed to be a part of you.**" Dark Sonic groaned.

"What was that, mate?!" Marine screamed shrilly.

"Silver, you're the brains of the group!" Sonic stated. "What in Kingdom Hearts was that?!"

"That might be the reason why we are here." Silver proclaimed, jumping away from the albatross to regain some dignity. "But if I had to guess, I would either say Eggman or the Order is behind this."

"I don't think we have to worry about the Order." Storm said.

The Sonic Team stared at their largest member, who was pointing directly behind them. A miniscule Shadow Heartless was creeping along the road; silently enter one of the nearby towers. They may get their answers sooner than they thought.

* * *

**---Amegakure---**

Sonic and his comrades naturally followed the Shadow Heartless into the tower, cautiously checking around corners in case of an ambush. However, Marine had accidentally tripped on her own two feet and caused a pileup with the Sonic Team, causing them to lose their target. So with no trail to follow, the Keyblade Master suggested looking through rooms at random until they came across any sign of the Heartless. The team had spent the next two hours search six floors, listening to the occasional outbursts of the unknown beast, until something of value actually came up. Silver was searching the last room at the end of the hall, finding himself in a surprisingly well-furbished room complete with hanging paintings, a large throw rug, and a mantel with a fire place. But the thing that caught the mystic's attention the most was the sparkling yellow gem above the mantel.

"It's a Chaos Emerald." Silver said as the group walked in.

"A what now?" Marine said confused.

"You remember the Chaos Emeralds." Storm said comfortingly. "There are the gems made from the heart of the Princesses of Heart like Amy and Ember. Black Doom tried to use them a year ago to open the Final Keyhole." He scratched his beak thoughtfully. "But...what's a Chaos Emerald doing in a place like this."

"We'll worry about that later." Sonic shrugged. "We should get this out of here before..."

But as predictable as it may seem, the missing Shadow Heartless reappeared to block the Keyblade Master's path. And this time, he was not alone. The heroes withdrew their weapons as over fifty Shadows emerged from the darkness to form a protective circle around their enemies.

"Do we ever get a break?" Angel sighed exasperatedly.

No, Angel, you don't. The first of the Shadows broke from its ranks and head-butt for the Keyblade Master, who effortlessly curbed and slashed the Heartless diagonally. Two more from the left hoped off the heads of their comrades and swiped their miniscule claws across the air, but Sonic dodged to the side and decapitated them in an instant. But when he wasn't paying attention, four Shadow snuck from behind and grappled the cobalt hedgehog by the ankles, throwing his face first into the carpet. Unfortunately, the others weren't faring as well. Silver jabbed his staff forward, unleashing an overpowering column of flames from the dragon's mouth. However, he remained blankly unaware of the Heartless waiting silently on the mantel until the Shadow jumped on his back. Storm and Angel fell on their own double-team standby as the pink experiment curled her body into the ball as her friend lifted her with his fist. And just as he was ready to throw the pink wrecking ball. A Shadow jumped and heat-butted his shoulder, throwing off Storm's angle. And while the Albatross was thrown into the carpet, Angel was literally bouncing off the walls until she collided with Marine, who had formed a circular barrier to protect herself. The two females were thrown in random directions like an enlarged game of pinball – Marine rediscovered the beef stew she ate for lunch. After the brutal massacre, the Sonic Team was thrown with their backs against the wall, surrounding by the growing number of Shadows.

"I can't believe it." Sonic gapped. "We're getting our tails handed to us by Heartless."

"We could really use some help right now." Silver said worried.

Surprisingly enough, help did arrive. The doors to the room were blown off their hinges and a large majority of the Shadows were annihilated in that instant. Heroes and villains alike turned their attention from the battle at the unwarranted intruder. The Sonic Team finally knew what was causing the noise from earlier. The beast had skin that resembled darkened blood with a human-like structure mixed with animalistic features. The beast seemed to mostly walk on all fours with elongated nails, six lashing tails, and what appeared to be a fox skeleton connected to its skin. The unknown beast crossed the threshold of the door and walked diligently into the room, obliterating every heartless with a swish of its tails. The fox-like demon stopped for a moment and stared at Sonic with its pure-white eyes and turned away, facing the Chaos Emerald. The unknown demon tried to touch the sparkling gem, but it's skin hissed and burned upon contact, causing the demon to screech painfully. The monster showed a surprising amount of intelligence as it ripped a piece of the rug and wrapped the emerald in its folds. With one last look at the Sonic Team, the fox-like monster dashed out of the room and into the shadows.

"What do you think that was all about?" Storm asked cluelessly.

"I don't know, but I feel like I've seen him before." Sonic said thoughtfully.

"**The darkness it presented was certainly familiar enough.**" Dark Sonic said, shaking slightly. "**But I haven't sensed an evil so powerful since Black Doom was destroyed. You must be cautious.**"

"I think we should get out of here as soon as possible." Silver proclaimed seriously. "We're in way over our heads. There is an unusually large amount of Heartless and the monster is wandering around this world. It's too dangerous to continue."

"But still..." Sonic murmured worried.

"Hey, mates, I think I saw someone." Marine interrupted excitedly. "I didn't get a good look, but I think it was a Sheila with pink hair running down the hall. I think she was watching us."

"Pink hair..." Storm pondered loudly until a thought came to him. "That's it! A Chaos Emerald must mean a princess of Heart is here! And who is the only princess we know that has pink hair!"

"Sakura!" Sonic exclaimed cheerfully. "And if she's around, then Naruto must be around, too. Maybe we can ask them about that weird monster we saw and help out."

In the end, even Silver had come to agree that Naruto's assistance would be beneficial to their mission. The young shinobi had already proven himself during their adventure in Hollow Bastion when they defeated Black Doom and faced against Duskmon. Wasting no time furthering the discussion, the Sonic Team followed Marine's lead to where she believed Sakura may have disappeared to. The short trip actually took them to a set of stairs that took the heroes up to the next level, where they returned to yet another lengthy hall. There was almost no hope of finding Sakura in a place like this. Almost being the keyword. With a careful eye, Sonic noticed the third door on the right side was partially opened and a shadow was lingering under the door frame. The Keyblade Master pointed this out and Silver waved for him to take the lead, withdrawing his dragon staff from behind. The Babylon Mystic took a few steps forward – his team waited with baited breathe – and pushed with his free hand to slam the door open. The next moment, Silver was launched across the hall and through the opposite door as a black-gloved fist crushed his nose. Marine and Storm quickly jumped to his aid while Angel and Sonic summoned their weapons in defense.

"That's the last time I ever volunteer for anything." Silver groaned.

"Oh, I'm _SO_ sorry!" The attacker cried apologetically. "I thought you were someone else!"

Sakura had not changed much since her capture to Black Doom during the year previously. Her luscious-pink hair was still trimmed close to her shoulders and parted from her large forehead. Her attire consisted of a simple red top with a white ring on the back, black formfitting shorts, black knee-length boots, light pinks elbow pads and apron-like skirt, and black gloves which she used to give Silver the nosebleed. Sonic recognized the headband she wore to be similar to the one Naruto yielded, but the cloth was crimson-red. Genuinely happy to see the group, Sakura lifted the Keyblade Master and embraced him in a friendly hug, which was done with surprising strength – Sonic started choking.

"Sonic, I knew you would come back!" Sakura screamed cheerfully. "I always had a feeling you might come to help!"

"If you don't put me down, I'm not sure how much long I can help." Sonic gasped.

"Oops. Sorry." Sakura laughed lightly, placing the hedgehog back on the ground. "I'm just surprised that you guys actually showed up. We've been trying to get in contact with you for over a year and we could never get any response."

"Well...we've been busy." Angel said earnestly.

"So where's Naruto, mate?" Marine asked immediately. "Did he go off to fight that big beastie?"

"That's the real problem." Sakura said solemnly. "Naruto is the monster."

"What?!" the Sonic Team exclaimed shockingly.

"You already knew that Naruto contained the Kyuubi within him, right?" Sakura asked softly; the team nodded. "There were many times when Naruto would accidentally set the Kyuubi loose and took control, but he always turned back after a while. But this time, it looks like he's stuck in that form."

"Did something happen?" Silver questioned.

"You could say that." Sakura nodded sadly. "You see, Lady Tsunade assigned me, Naruto, and a group of others to investigate the strange rumors running around about Amegakure. We have reason to believe an evil organization is using this village as a base of operations."

The moment she mentioned the organization, the Sonic Team instantly knew who she was talking about: Order XIII. So it seems that the Order was interested in residing in this world – more than likely due to the location of the Chaos Emerald. But the question is why the would want the Chaos Emerald in this first place. They didn't have any hearts, so the mystic gems would be useless to them.

"We spent the first month of our investigation asking questions around town." Sakura continued, not taking notice to the disturbed looks from the team. "I don't know what happened, but Naruto seemed to be losing control of his chakra everyday and the Kyuubi would leak out more and more. We tried to suppress it, but the Kyuubi's chakra wouldn't go away. Then one day, Naruto transformed into the beast you see now. We wanted to go back to Konoha for help, but we were worried what the people would think if they knew Naruto had lost control. We've been here ever since."

"You said you came with a team." Angel noted. "Whatever happened to them?"

"Naruto picked them off one-by-one and threw them into the basement of this tower." Sakura replied swiftly, looking ragged at the thought. "I'm the only one that managed to get away in time. I've been trying to go down there and set them free, but some monster has taken residence down there and blocked off the path."

"Then we'll have to go save them." Sonic said certainly.

"But why would he lock them up?" Storm asked confused. "If he's controlled by the Kyuubi, wouldn't he have killed them by now?"

"I was just wondering the same thing." Sakura said hopefully. "Maybe...maybe there's some small part of Naruto still in there."

"Then if anyone can pull him out, I know you can." Sonic said promisingly. "This is the same guy that risked his neck to break you out of Black Doom's castle. I'm sure he'll come around."

Sonic's word's seemed to fill the Princess's heart with much confidence. After Sakura agreed to investigate the demon Naruto further, the Sonic Team charged down the stairway for several levels towards the hidden basement below. Much to the team's displeasure, the basement contained fourteen different floors and Sakura had not been specific when mentioning its location. Sonic and his friends spent the next hour search through the first three floors of the basement with little to go on and generally found nothing of value. The team was walking down the stairs to the fourth floor of the basement when Dark Sonic, clearly agitated by the waiting, reconnected with his other half.

"**What is taking so long?**" Dark Sonic snarled irritably. "**Shouldn't you be facing the Heartless around this time?**"

"_What do you want me to do?_" Sonic snapped. "_It's not like I can just follow a trail of breadcrumbs to the basement._"

"**Why not follow their aura?**" Dark Sonic offered. "**I believe Silver has performed this once before.**"

"Yeah, that's right!" Sonic cheered aloud, earning awkward stares from his team. "Silver, can't you use your lightning element to search for the auras of Sakura's friends?"

"That's a good point." Silver nodded thoughtfully. "Every soul in the universe distributes a distinct aura that represents their separate hearts and personalities. They can be easily traced by emitting an ultraviolet electrical pulse wave. All it requires is a static charge across the atmosphere focused within a limited range."

"Stop babbling and get on with it." Angel demanded.

Slight output by the experiment's rudeness, Silver folded his hands over the rod of his dragon staff and began muttering under his breath. A current of static electricity radiated from the mystic's body and motioned to the dragon head, where the eyes gained an ominous golden glow. The Sonic Team felt a tingling sensation all across their bodies as the pulse not only passed through tem, but throughout the entire tower. There auras were finally exposed under the command of the Babylon Mystic. Sonic's aura was a mixed of ivory-white with jet-black mixed to represent his unity in twilight. Marine's aura was spring-green, Storm's was sunny-yellow, Silver's was amethyst-purple, and Angel's scarlet red. Looking above them, they saw a hot-pink aura that represented Sakura and a red/black aura at the top of the tower – that must be Naruto. Looking downwards, the team spotted a collection of aura isolated at the lowest point of the basement.

"Looks like we found our heading, mates!" Marine cheered as the aura's faded.

"It's strange." Silver said subconsciously. "While I was looking for the auras, it felt like there was some kind of outside energy being transmitted into the tower, but I couldn't locate the source."

"We'll worry about that later." Sonic waved.

The Babylon mystic couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong, but he didn't want to be left behind. The Sonic Team followed the trail of the aura they had previously spotted, eventually coming to a spot at the lowest point in the tower. It looked as if they had walked into a dungeon that was left behind by the medieval times. The walls were made from grey stone with marble gargoyles on either side, scattered tools littered the ground, and the only other entrance left was the door across from them. The massive stone door was imprinted with a demonic-like fox with its claws nestled protectively over the lock and nine lashing tails in the background. The Sonic Team approached the door cautiously, expecting a Heartless to jump out when they least expected it.

"This must be the place." Sonic said. "Wonder where all the Heartless went off to."

"They must have been scared of me." Angel said smugly, leaning against the door. "I guess my reputation precedes me. They were so scared of what I could do that they ran with their antenna between their legs."

But while the pink experiment continued to boast, she failed to recognize the flashing-red eyes from the fox demon doorway. Angel was still going on about her eventual success while the rest of the Sonic Team backed away the moment the threshold started coming to life. The demon doorway inherited a burning-orange color with its claws tapping against the keyhole and it's nine tails twitching to life. It was only when noticing the fearful looks on her friends faces did she bother to look up. The demon doorway snarled and hissed malevolently directly into the experiments face, breathing hot air into her eyes. Angel barely managed to scramble away in time before the demon doorway's tail stabbed into the ground where she once stood.

"Look's like this is your big chance, Angel." Storm laughed. "Show him what you're made of."

"Shut up!" Angel snapped.

* * *

**Heartless Gateway: Thresholder**

The demonic doorway growled challengingly at the Keyblade Master and his friends as they withdrew their weapons. Both sides waited momentarily to see who would start things off until Angel decided to cut the dramatics short. The pink experiment jumped sideways towards her left, tossed both of her silver daggers at an angle. The Thresholder saw the attack coming and raised one of its tails to block off the path of the daggers, sending them flying in a random direction. And in hopes of using this distraction, Storm grabbed the edges of his shield and tossed the weapon like a disk. Unfortunately, the Heartless Gateway caught sight of it and swiped another tail to throw the shield into the ground. The Thresholder kept a close eye on Angel and she made a dash for the keyhole it was protecting, effectively stabbing three tails in her path. At the last moment, the pink experiment curled herself into a ball and slipped below the demon's wall of defense. As it turned out, Angel was only making a dive to retrieve Storm's shield, which she used to protect herself while trying to recover her own weapons.

"Heads up, big guy!" Angel called, tossing the shield overhead.

"Thanks a million!" Storm said gratefully, pulling his weapon out of the air.

While Angel and Storm resumed their struggle against the Thresholder on one side, Marine and Silver were caught in their own complications. The Babylon mystic was swiftly ducking and rolling away from the Heartless Gateway's tails, trying at the least to perform so type of spell. But before he could concentrate his energy, the Thresholder would always knock Silver off balance and cut off the connection with his magic. At one point of the battle, the Heartless Gateway swiped the back of Silver's ankles, throwing the Babylon mystic on his back and unconsciously throwing his staff into the corner. Sensing Silver's momentary weakness, the Thresholder raised four tails at once and stabbed them in a downwards motion. And in one miraculous moment, an emerald-green claw appeared from nothingness and grappled the tails into the ground, despite the struggle. Silver looked over gratefully to Marine, who was trying to maintain her concentration on the claw, and jumped backwards to his staff. Once grabbing the dragon staff, Silver managed to focus his energy long enough to formed a spiraling current of wind around the base of his weapon. With a single motion of his hand, the Babylon Mystic created a blade of wind that slashed the collective tails in half.

"Awesome shot, mate!" Marine cheered.

"If only it was that easy." Silver murmured.

Just as the Babylon Mystic had expected, the Heartless Gateway had regrown its limbs almost instantaneously and continued with its assault. And while his friends were busy with their own troubles, Sonic was faced with the Thresholder itself. While the demonic doorway slashed one claw at the cobalt hedgehog – it refused to relinquish it hold on the keyhole – Sonic raised his Keyblade to block the jab. Sonic knees buckled under the pressure created from the Thresholder's sheer strength, trying to repel the Heartless Gateway. And with his mind occupied on the demon's claw, he paid no regards to the ninth tail that was free from battle and unconsciously allowed it to impact his chest. The cobalt hedgehog was thrown against the doorway to the room, cracking his right shoulder against the edge of the door. Sonic dropped to his knees as his Keyblade clattered across the stone floor, stopping within the Thresholder's reach. With an enraged growl, the Heartless Gateway stabbed its teeth forward to consume the Keyblade of Twilight. Fearing the worst, Sonic threw out his left hand and watched in relief as the Kingdom Key vanished in a flash of light and darkness – the Thresholder smashed its face into the ground. The Keyblade Master recalled his weapon, but unfortunately could not hold it in his right hand, which was his more favored side.

"Well, this can't get any worse." Sonic commented.

Oh, how wrong he was. As the demonic doorway lashed its free tail, Sonic activated the Kingdom Key's keychain ability, dashing away in a blur of blue and silver. The cobalt hero had managed to bypass the Thresholder's impressive defenses and jumped close to the Heartless Gateway's face to strike. Unfortunately, with Sonic being forced to use his left hand, the impact was much less impressive than what he could have hoped for. In fact, the Thresholder didn't even feel it. The demonic doorway snapped its fiery-red eyes over to the Keyblade Master and knocked him away with the flick of his claws. While the cobalt hedgehog was thrown in a crumpled heap, he heard the cries of his teammates and looked up. The Sonic Team had finally been overpowered by the sheer number of tails and was being constricted in midair.

"No!" Sonic shouted pleadingly. "Leave them alone! It's me you want!"

"**You've got to do something quickly!**" Dark Sonic said urgently. "**Quick! Try using the keychain ability of your other Keyblade!**"

Sonic didn't waste time rummaging through his pouches looking for the keychain Angewomon had given to him before leaving the Digital World. Once he found it – a black dragon chain – he switched the Kingdom Key with his newest acquisition. It was an impressive blade to say the least. The hand guard was comprised of a pair of paladin dragon wings, the main body was pure-white with golden symbols, the teeth of the Keyblade looked similar to a pair of claws, and symbol of the Royal Knights was pressed into the hilt. This version of the Keyblade – which was to be named Paladin – was surprisingly heavy, meaning that it had much more force behind it. But there was still one problem left...

"_Uh...how do I use the keychain ability?_" Sonic asked meekly.

"**Are you kidding me?!**" Dark Sonic exclaimed heatedly. "**You have been fighting Heartless over a year and you still don't know how to activate the keychains! You are the worst Keyblade Master ever!**"

"_How would you know?!_" Sonic snapped angrily. "_It's not like you can..._"

"Watch out, mate!" Marine screamed.

The two personas stopped fighting long enough to notice that the five remaining tails of the Thresholder had struck in a simultaneous attack. Mostly due to his own injury and the weight of the Paladin, Sonic couldn't duck away in time and watched horrifically as the tails grappled around his abdomen. The Thresholder hissed malevolently as Sonic slowly lifted his Keyblade overhead and threw the hedgehog against the wall. The Keyblade Master had slammed the back of his head against the wall – the Paladin landed on the floor and disappeared as he lost consciousness. The Heartless Gateway growled in a satisfactory tone as it lifted the sleeping Keyblade Master closer to its teeth, breathing heavily over the hedgehog.

"Sonic, this is no time to be playing around!" Angel screeched.

"I don't think he's playing." Silver said worried.

Indeed, Sonic the Hedgehog seemed down and out. With it's victory in mind, the Thresholder lurched forward and snapped its jagged teeth across the Keyblade Master's neckline. A sound of clashing metal filled the air. Heroes and Heartless alike were thrown off guard in surprise as Sonic summoned the Paladin to his hand with his head still bowed. The demonic doorway suffered the pain of feeling the Keyblade stab between its teeth and into the gums, instinctively throwing the hedgehog back. The cobalt hedgehog had caught himself in midair and landed safely on the ground, where the Sonic Team had expected him to boast about his great escape. Shockingly enough, Sonic didn't say a word. And to add further into this mystery, Sonic was holding the Paladin backwards in his left hand as if he had been practicing this form for years.

"Think there's something wrong with him, mate?" Marine asked curiously.

"Sonic, are you all right?" Storm questioned.

"Zoan...Aleena...Master..." Sonic murmured softly.

The Sonic Team glanced to one another in confusion and worry. It was rare for Sonic to talk about his parent before, but now he was talking about them as if speaking to a long lost friend. But the Thresholder did not have the patience to deal with this matter and stabbed its claw forward for the cobalt hedgehog. it all ended before they could even blink. With perfect form and grace, Sonic twirled in a circle to avoid the claw and swiped the backwards Paladin upwards, severing the sharp limb. And before the Thresholder could react to this, the Keyblade Master appeared in a blur of movement at the demon's face and slashed his Keyblade across. The Thresholder remained with an expression of horror, slowly succumbing to the power of the Keyblade as its body was ripped in two. Dropping the Sonic Team to the ground, the Thresholder eroded into the darkness, granting access to the room beyond its walls.

**Thresholder: Defeated**

* * *

"Sonic, what just happened there?" Silver asked shockingly.

"What do you mean?" Sonic blinked.

"You were just talking about your parents and took out that Heartless like it was no problem!" Angel screamed, shaking the hedgehog by his shoulders. "You were totally hypnotized or something!"

"Nah, that doesn't sound like me." Sonic said nonchalantly.

"**There is something strange going on.**" Dark Sonic communicated. "**The moment you lost consciousness, the third heart started reacting. It was almost as if it had taken over.**"

"I'm telling you guys, I'm fine." Sonic waved assuring. "Come on, we've got some ninjas to rescue. Wow, never thought I'd say that."

Though Storm and Marine were easy to brush the incident off, Silver and Angel were not. Something had happened to Sonic in that one moment of weakness – it was like he was possessed. But then again, Sonic has been known to perform unexplainable actions and this only added to the long list already constructed. The duo nodded to each other and silently agreed to keep a closer eye on the Keyblade Master. And while the heroes pushed through the stone gateway, they remained blissfully unaware of the pair of Dusks watching from the stone doorway behind them. The motioned to each other in silent communication before slithering back into the darkness.

* * *

**A new tale awaits the awakening. Has Sonic somehow come in contact with another entity? Can the Keyblade Master and his friends save Naruto from himself. And what events led to this lethal transformation? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	20. Tears in the Rain, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Nineteen: Tears in the Rain, Part 2

The scene returns to the basement of the highest tower in Amegakure. The introduction into this new world was unlike anything Sonic or his friends had ever witnessed. After losing to a flock of Heartless in an embarrassing defeat, the Sonic Team was saved by a savage demon. It was only after confronting Sakura that the Keyblade Master learned that the demon was his old friend, Naruto Uzumaki. In hopes of learning more about his sudden transformation, the group had reached the celler and faced the door where the other members of the scout team were supposedly locked up. At the moment, Angel and Storm were pressing their shoulders into the stone, but the doorway refused to budge.

"Locked." Storm stated. "Guess Naruto didn't want anyone getting in or out."

"Can we break it down?" Angel asked, cracking her knuckles openly.

"Let's try doing this the subtle way." Sonic chuckled amusingly. "Then we can break it down."

Pleased with the compromise, Angel sat on the floor with her tail wagging happily. Sonic stepped forward to the doorway and stared at the keyhole that was so heavily guarded by the Thresholder. The cobalt hedgehog summoned the newest form of his Keyblade, Paladin, and turned the teeth of the weapon to the keyhole. A beam of light erupted from the tip and made contact with the keyhole – the doorway opened with a loud click. Silver was the first to enter the secluded room with the rest of the team following behind. The room they walked into was small with only a few wooden creates and a basket of fruit set to the side – Marine slapped the albatross's hand away. The more he looked around, the more he realized that there wasn't a living soul in the dungeon.

"Uh...correct me if I'm wrong." Silver said suspiciously. "But aren't there supposed to be some prisoners in here?"

"Maybe they escaped?" Marine suggested.

"With the Heartless out there, it doesn't seem likely." Angel commented.

"Then maybe they were – watcha doing, mate?" Marine asked sharply.

A sense of curiosity filled the Keyblade Master as he looked over the youngest member of the team, who was staring at his teacher. For some odd reason, Silver seemed to become more ridged with his movements as if he was trying to prevent himself from being controlled something. The Babylon mystic crouched low to the ground with his hand folded tightly over his head.

"Silver, what are you doing?" Silver questioned strangely.

"I – don't – know!" Silver grunted forcefully. "I – can't – control – my – body!"

"Well, that's weird." Sonic said, scratching his head cluelessly. "What do you think is wrong with him, Storm?"

But the almighty albatross did not respond to the Keyblade Master. That was something that never happened. Sonic turned on his heels and faced the captain of the guard just as Storm grappled Angel and Marine into his arms. The females of the group were struggling to break free, but they didn't want to severely hurt their large friend. As Sonic summoned Paladin to his hand, he noticed the glazed look in his eyes – it was like he was possessed. Sonic didn't have time to contemplate the meaning of this before he felt a series of thin points stabbing into his backside. The Keyblade Master dropped his Keyblade, which vanished in a flash of light and darkness, and dropped to the floor on his face – he couldn't move.

"_What just happened?!_" Sonic exclaimed.

"**You've lost all control of your nervous system.**" Dark Sonic said impressively. "**It's surprising, really. You would need advance anatomy skills, excellent coordination, and perfect marksmanship to render the entire body useless in a few blows.**"

"_I'll get you an autograph later._" Sonic snapped savagely.

"Did ya get him?" Sonic hear a man's voice asking.

"It was quick and decisive." A second voice stated; the hedgehog felt a hand brush against his quills. "Strange. These creatures don't look anything like the shadows that have been attacking the village."

"If you're talking about the Heartless, you got the wrong guys, mate." Marine wheezed; Storm's grip was greater than suspected. "We're the one's trying to get rid of them."

"We're also the ones Sakura sent to save you and Naruto." Angel growled struggling.

"Why should we believe you?" The second man questioned.

"Hold on a minute, Neji." The first man said calmly. "Look at the blue hedgehog. Though he is a bit older than expected, he fits the exact description of the Keyblade Master Naruto and Sakura told Lady Tsunade."

"That's me: Sonic the Hedgehog." Sonic grinned in a muffled tone. "So...if you wouldn't mind..."

The strangers seemed to get the hint as the cobalt hedgehog felt a number of stabs to his spine and suddenly regained all bodily motions. Groaning loudly from the sensation, Sonic sat up and cracked his stiff spine while looking back to the rest of his team. Storm had regained all consciousness of himself and released the girls, who was gasping for dear life, and Silver was in full control of his body again. At once, the Keyblade Master turned as three unfamiliar characters emerged from behind the wooden crates.

The first member of the group was a tall teenager with long, mahogany-brown hair that framed around his face and reached to the base of his spine. His clothing was close to that of Chinese reference by the baggy, ivory-white pants, open-sleeved shirt, black sandals, and black cloak strapped around his waist. Like Naruto and Sakura, he wore a metal plate around his forehead attached to a black cloth. Sonic found this man creepy not because of what he could do, but because of his shocking-white eyes.

The next man was a little younger than the first and seemed to hold a mixture of seriousness and sleepiness in his eyes. His jet-black hair was tied into a spiky ponytail – Sonic thought it reminded him of a pineapple. He wore plain black pants with a match black shirt beneath a moss-green flak jacket and placed the metal plate on his left shoulder.

The third character was the only female of the group. She seemed to be equal in age and height with pineapple-head (Sonic's inside joke) and had sunny-blond hair that covered the right side of her face. He attire – or lack of, in Angel's opinion – consisted of a short purple, buttoned-down shirt, a purple skirt, black sandals, and fishnet pieces on her elbows and kneecaps.

"So, you're here to rescue us?" The female said, blinking curiously. "Funny. I always imagined our heroes to be a little...taller."

"If you don't want our help, we'll just lock ya back up." Sonic sniffed importantly.

"Please ignore her – we all do." The pineapple-head said lazily; the female looked scandalized. "My name is Shikamaru Naru."

"Ino Yamanaka at you service." Ino giggled.

"Neji Hyuga." Neji said shortly.

"And my name is Sonic the Hedgehog." Sonic stated in a dignified manner, summoning his Keyblade to emphasize his importance. "The Keyblade's chosen one and savoir of all worlds."

"**Modest, aren't we?**" Dark Sonic said sarcastically.

"Anyway, this is the rest of my team." Sonic continued, ignoring his counterpart. "Silver the Hedgehog – Master of Magic. Storm the Albatross – the Juggernaut. Experiment 624 – Angel the Demon." The pink experiment smacked him hard for that remark. "And this little bundle of energy is Marine the Raccoon."

"You said Sakura sent you down here." Ino said pointedly. "Does that mean she's ok?"

"She can handle the Heartless on her own." Storm stated supportively. "But it doesn't look like Naruto has managed to capture her just yet. Speaking of whom, what happened to Naruto, anyway?"

"If you're going to help us, I suppose you need to hear the whole story." Shikamaru sighed, settling himself on the nearest crate. "It all started eight months back when we first heard word from a woman named Konan that a cloak-and-dagger society called the Order invaded Amegakure and were trying to pry information from the village. She sent the letter as top priority."

"Our Hokage, Lady Tsunade, did not want to send an entire army to investigate." Neji continued solemnly. "So she formed a team of five to sneak past the borders and scout the latest activity going on in the village. We were specifically chosen for our selective abilities. Naruto's shadow clones, Sakura's medical jutsu, Ino mental techniques, Shikamaru's shadow control, and my Byakugan."

"Your wha?" Sonic said cluelessly.

"The Byakugan." Silver explained, once again sounding like he swallowed a textbook. "It is a special eye passed down through only certain families. It gives its user the ability to see the nerve system of their opponents and allows them to pinpoint their greatest weaknesses."

"**That explains how he was able to topple you so easily.**" Dark Sonic said.

"It also allows the user to see 359 degrees around their bodies." Silver concluded. "It is an almost perfect defense."

"It didn't help enough." Ino glowered; the Hyuga remained indifferent. "After the first few weeks into our mission, Naruto began getting a lot angrier and was releasing the Kyuubi's chakra regularly. And once Naruto reached the four-tailed state, Neji tried to use his Byakugan to shutdown his charka system long enough to turn him back to normal. But..."

"Naruto's body was completely covered in chakra." Neji proclaimed. "Not even my Byakugan could peer through its cloak."

"After Neji was captured, I tried to snag him with my Shadow Possession Jutsu." Shikamaru sighed lazily. "But he was too strong and captured me, too. Afterward, Ino got the stupid idea to try and control Naruto's mind. But the Kyuubi was too powerful and forced Ino back, leaving her unconscious for several days. We've been down here for three weeks now."

"How'd ya manage to survive that long, mate?" Marine asked.

"Some one has been coming down and bringing us food when we're asleep." Shikamaru answered simply. "At first, we thought it was Sakura. But then we wondered why she didn't set us free is she found a way to get past the shadow blocking the doorway. So one night, the three of us pretended to sleep and saw Naruto carrying a basket of food and leaving it on the floor before leaving."

"You still think Naruto might still be in there." Ino murmured hopefully.

"It would make sense." Neji nodded. "It would explain why he didn't kill us after defeat each one of us."

"Then if there is a chance that Naruto is still inside that beast, then we have to save him." Sonic suggested immediately.

"If we're going to do this, we're going to need to plan this out." Shikamaru said much like a general leading his soldiers. "We need to make sure that no one else in the village was hurt by Naruto and we need to deal with him personally. So I suggest we split up into two separate units. Ino and myself will be joined by Marine and Angel in the village."

"Why?" Angel whined loudly.

"Without Chouji joining us, our team is severally lacking in strength." Shikamaru said calculative. "Neji was watching the fight outside with his Byakugan and said that you are one of the stronger fighters." The pink experiment smiled proudly while Shikamaru turned to Marine. "And Marine, Ino can use Medical Jutsu, but is still we from fighting Naruto. Now according to Neji, you can cast magic using this orb of yours."

"I gotcha, mate!" Marine saluted. "You want me to give the Sheila a power boost with my orb."

"Exactly." Shikamaru nodded, turning to Neji. "That leaves the rest of you to deal with Naruto and whatever is behind this." The Hyuga nodded curtly while the Sonic Team showed their individual signs of eagerness. "There's no telling how far Naruto had succumb to the Kyuubi's power. If we're lucky, we won't have to kill him.

* * *

The scene alternates to the highest point of the tower. Close to half an hour following the arrangement, Shikamaru's team was already scouting the village while Neji led the Sonic Team up the tower through his Byakugan. Apparently, the Byakugan had a technique similar to Silver's Aura impulse, but it was a lot more efficient and required little energy. Meanwhile, Naruto, still contained in his demon body, was staring across the silhouetted sanctuary that allowed him to watch the rain drizzle endlessly as it did. The sanctuary was only half covered from the salty tears falling from the clouds, flooding the other half of the room with a repetitive tapping of raindrops. The skeleton-covered fox demon had his back turned to the yellow Chaos Emerald, which was resting on the self hidden in darkness.

"Still watching the pain of this country." The demon boy turned, facing the concealed member of Order XIII. "I would have thought you would have learned by now. This land has been fractured by countless battles and pointless wars – wars that they wished no part of. Families were slain, children wept over the bodies of their parents, and others were forced to kill or steal in order to survive. That is the true sight of the world."

"You're wrong." Naruto growled defiantly. "There are still people...who can help."

"Such as the Keyblade Master and his friends." No. III said monotonously; the demon fox turned. "You still believe that the hedgehog is the pinnacle of righteousness after helping rescue your dearly beloved. You have not witnessed the great darkness he exhibits in his heart. And that darkness..." He gently captured the Chaos Emerald in his hand. "Seeks to eliminate you."

"But why?" Naruto asked sadly.

"For the same reason your...'friends' wished to do you harm." No. III answered firmly, walking close to the demon boy. "They don't see Naruto Uzumaki, a boy who only wishes to beloved – a child that yearns for the warmth of friendship and the love of parents. They only see the demon within: Kyuubi no Kistune. That is why you are trapped in your present form." He placed the Chaos Emerald on a nearby pipe. "You can trust no one. Though you heart suffers great pain, you will mature and become stronger than anything you could have dreamed of."

"But I don't want this strength." Naruto moaned. "All I want is..."

"What?" No. III questioned sternly, crossing his arm. "To be reunited with your parents? To gain the approval of your peers? To win the affections of the girl? Or perhaps you wish to prove to the village that you are not a monster." He uncrossed his arms and turned his back. "But the fact of the matter is....you are one."

Overcome by anger, Naruto roared with inhumane tones and swiped his claws at the hooded figure, only to miss by several inches. The man in the cloak seemed to be satisfied by the outcome as his eyes capture the sight of a deathly-black aura surrounding the demon. But before he could push further, the door to the room opens, revealing the party of Sonic, Neji, Silver, and Storm. Once catching the sight of the hidden Order member, Neji activated his Byakugan and tried to look for a weak point in which he could attack. But there was a slight problem...

"_I can't detect any activity in his chakra network._" Neji thought shockingly. "_But does that mean...he's...dead?_"

"It would seem that they can come to deal the final blow." No III said coolly.

Backing himself into the rain, No III formed a barrier of darkness between himself and the Sonic Team, also closing off the way they had entered. Once settled, the unknown member vanished into the Corridors of Darkness.

"Hey, Naruto, how's it going?" Sonic laughed, hoping to make polite conversation.

But apparently, the demon vessel was not looking for a good chat. Instead, Naruto swiped his claws downwards and the Keyblade Master had to back-flip in order to dodge the strike. Once landing, the fox demon barely gave him any time to recover before lashing four tails into the team's direction. Sonic, Silver, and Storm were able to defend themselves using their weapons, but Neji was forced to throw aside the tail with his bare hands. The Hyuga was able to push the strike away, but the sharp hiss and steam radiating from Neji's palm told them that his hand was burned. This fact was proven when the Hyuga exposed his shining-red palm, which Silver relieved using water magic."

"I don't think he's in the mood to talk." Neji winced.

"You...." Naruto snarled, gesturing a claw to the cobalt hedgehog. "I am going to grind your bones, rip your flesh like paper!"

"That's not very nice." Sonic commented.

"**Your about to become a demon's chew toy and you're worried about his manners!**" Dark Sonic snapped.

"_Hey, you don't see me threatening all the homicidal maniacs._" Sonic retorted.

"**You are an idiot.**" Dark Sonic sighed.

* * *

**Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki: Naruto**

Sonic raised the Paladin over his head as Naruto made another stab for the Keyblade Master's life, swiping his inhumane claws across the air. With his new Keyblade already heavier than average, Sonic was using all his willpower to stop himself from buckling under the pressure provided by the Jinchuuriki. So in an attempt to throw him off, the cobalt hedgehog lifted one of his legs and stamped it into the demon fox's chest. However, the plan backfired as Sonic's kick barely caused the Naruto to vibrate and the sole of the hedgehog's boot. This also inadvertently caused the Keyblade Master to lose his balance and fall backwards, unconsciously releasing his grip on the Keyblade. While the Paladin clattered across the room, the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki crushed his claws into the ground on either side of Sonic's head with his teeth close to the hedgehog's face.

"_Whew, has this guy ever heard of a toothbrush._" Sonic thought jokingly.

"**Do you ever take anything seriously.**" Dark Sonic growled. "**Either you find some way to get us out of this situation, or I'll be looking for vacancy into a new Keyblade Master.**"

"_Relax._" Sonic responded nonchalantly. "_I always have a plan....most of the time._"

"**Why do I not feel safe?**" Dark Sonic groaned.

The other members of the Sonic Team were trying to reach the Keyblade Master to protect him, but the Jinchuuriki's tails were swiping across the air at random. And while the demon Naruto pulled back his head with his razor-teeth bared, Sonic was secretly performing a seal with his hands. The Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki stabbed at the Keyblade Master, but was thrown off-guard as Sonic smoldering ball of flames from his throat. Naruto shrieked menacingly as the blaze clouded his vision and Sonic threw out his hand to recall the Paladin to himself. In one swinging movement, Sonic jumped back to his feet, twisted in a full circle, slammed the base of the Keyblade into Naruto's neck. The Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki stiffened almost immediately – Sonic quickly believed himself to be victorious. However, when the flames subsided, Naruto was glaring out of pure spite.

"Uh, you're supposed to be knocked out right now." Sonic chuckled feebly.

"Nice try." Naruto snarled.

The fox demon pried the Keyblade from its master's grip and threw it across the room before lashing Sonic across the chest with its tail. The cobalt hedgehog smacked against the wall, groaning over the burn mark on his chest. Upon seeing one of his closest friends hurt, Storm lost all sense of his own safety and stampeded ahead with his shield held in front of his face. And despite the swiping limbs, Storm managed to repel the onslaught and tackled Naruto into the wall. Hissing under the albatross's weight, the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki tried slashing for the captain of the guard, only barely missing. Meanwhile, Silver and Neji rejoined the cobalt hedgehog after Silver recovered him with a quick healing spell.

"Ugh! Anyone catch the license plate off that train." Sonic mumbled incoherently.

"A direct attack is suicidal." Neji proclaimed; his Byakugan was still active. "A thick layer of malevolent chakra covers his entire body, making him more resistant than an armed fortress. You're going to need something stronger than that sword to pierce his cloak."

"Everything has a weakness." Silver stated certainly.

"There are only two things that can repress the Bijuu." Neji proclaimed. "Only the secret technique of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, or his necklace." The hedgehogs looked hopeful, which the Hyuga quickly diminished. "The First Hokage died over eighty years ago and the only man who can mimic the technique is not in this first. Naruto had the First Hokage's necklace, but he destroyed it once reaching the six-tailed state."

"**So we're pretty much screwed.**" Dark Sonic said bluntly.

"Incoming!" Storm screamed.

The trio looked over and ducked just in time as Storm was launched across the room with a massive dent in the face of his shield. Naruto, having broken free from the albatross's hold, was seeking to make up for lost time by attacking his remaining three opponents at once. However, Neji bravely took the front of the assault and raised his palms forward, twisting his body in a circular motion. Almost immediately, a large source of white energy escaped from his fingers as he spun around in a full circle, forming a protective barrier around him.

"**Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin!!**" Neji cried.

Sonic and Silver were thrown back by just a brush with the unknown technique, but Naruto received a full blast of the technique and was crushed against the wall. The Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki hissed of rage and malevolence, but was unable to move due to Neji's strength. After what seemed like ages, the Heavenly Spin finally dropped in momentum and the Byakugan wielding warrior made his appearance with his body set to strike. Taking advantage of the Jinchuuriki's stupefied state, Neji stabbed his fingers into Naruto's body, trying to ignore the painful sensation coursing through him. The Hyuga showed and impressive strength of will as he stabbed into the demon two times...four time...eight...sixteen...thirty-two...sixty-four times.

"**Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!!**" Neji shouted.

The last two strikes were pressed against the demon's chest with both palms, earning a pained shriek from Naruto. Neji panted and stared at the demon, hoping what ever he had accomplished would be enough. He was satisfied to see that a trail of black blood slipped through the Jinchuuriki's serrated teeth. But the task was not completed. Without warning, Naruto grappled the Hyuga by his throat – Neji's skin burned on contact – and was lifted off the ground until they were at eye-level.

"Naruto..." Neji moaned weakly. "Why...?"

"You think I was actually going to let you kill me?" Naruto growled lowly. "It's like you said: the only thing we have in common is death. And if the village plans to kill me, I'm going to take as many as I can with me."

"Do you honestly believe that?" Neji questioned seriously. "After everything we've been through, you think everyone would just abandon you as you are?" Naruto only growled in his throat, but listened intently. "Lee, Tenten, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Sai, and myself have always been your friends and nothing has changed that."

"Liar..." Naruto snarled.

"Do you think Sakura would betray you?" Neji continued.

"Of course she would!" Naruto shrieked, throwing Neji to the floor. "Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke! It was always about him! Once he comes back, no one will miss that damned demon child!!"

The Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki was apparently finished with talking as he raised his claw for the finishing blow. However, his plans were halted as Silver jumped between them, using the rod of his staff to block the incoming assault. And while Sonic mended Neji's wounds with the same spell that healed him, the Keyblade Master watched his teacher go blow-to-blow with the demon. But it didn't matter how many spells that Silver knew if it couldn't pierce the chakra cloak that concealed the vessel within it. And as Naruto bashed the fox skull into Silver's chest and threw him to the ground, he noticed something out of place in the small section. The yellow Chaps Emerald, with its colorful surface standing out against the gloomy background, was still resting on the pipe above.

"_Wait a minute..._" Sonic thought. "_Didn't Naruto take the Chaos Emerald earlier. And when he tried to pick it up...._"

"**It burned him instead.**" Dark Sonic said surprisingly. "**The Chaos Emerald comes from the light of the Princesses of Heart and counterbalances the darkness created from the Kyuubi. And if we can amplify the energies of the Chaos...**"

"_We can get the old knuckleheaded Naruto back!_" Sonic inwardly cheered.

After making sure that Neji would survive and his plan formed, Sonic summoned the Paladin to his hand. Silver had been easily dispatched by the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki and was close to losing his life. However, before the former ninja could truly seal his fall to the darkness, a cheerful tune carried across the sanctuary.

"Yo, Naruto!" Sonic called.

The Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki turned back to the Keyblade Master, suddenly suffering from the contact of the Chaos Emerald against his chest. Out of reflex, Naruto tried to throw the mystic gem off his demonic skin, but was quickly beaten to the punch. Sonic pointed the Paladin to the Chaos Emerald and released a beam of light that was normally used to lock and unlock the keyholes – I suppose this would count as well. The light of the Keyblade was absorbed by the surface of the Chaos Emerald and released all its energy into the demon's heart, piercing through its thick cloak. Naruto released a roar that would make most Heartless jealous as the light and darkness waged war in his heart. Finally, the Chaos Emerald clattered against the floor as the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki toppled in defeat.

**Naruto: Defeated**

* * *

"Is he...dead?" Storm asked meekly.

"Nah, just knocked out." Sonic shook.

"When do you think he'll...."

The Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki moaned painfully and shivered from the sudden cold that had invaded after the dark barriers had vanished following the battle. Naruto slowly lifted the skull covering his eyes and peered between Sonic and Silver before finally settling his gaze on Neji.

"Neji...what happened?" Naruto murmured.

"You lost control of yourself." Neji said tactlessly. "After you were consumed by the Kyuubi's power, you captured Shikamaru, Ino and myself and threw us into the basement."

"I did what?" Naruto asked, hoping he didn't hear correctly. No one seemed to comfort him. "Somehow, this doesn't surprise me."

"Who was that guy you were talking to?" Sonic asked openly. "The guy wearing the Black Cloak?"

"His name's Pein." Naruto answered sorrowfully. "I met him over eight months ago – when we first started the mission. He told me he knew all about the Bijuu and said there was a way for me to control the Kyuubi. Of course, I believed him. What I didn't realize was that he was just tweaking the seal more until the Kyuubi's chakra consumed me." He scratched his claws against the walls. "He used all my fears and pain to control me."

"Then it wasn't your fault." Silver said earnestly. "Pein was the one behind everything."

"No, it's my fault." Naruto proclaimed. "I'm the one who listened...and I believed him. The village only sees me as the demon inside me, not Naruto Uzumaki. I had thought that once I came back home, things would have changed for the better. But I can still see it in their eyes – all that hatred."

"But there are people who don't hate you." Neji stated firmly. "In fact, there are many people who admire you. Myself included."

"And I'll bet that's why you threw Neji, Ino, and Shikamaru down in the basement." Storm said positively. "You sent them all down there so that you wouldn't hurt them. And you always made sure they had food and water to make sure that nothing would happen to them. You never laid a hair on them."

"Was that the reason?" Naruto muttered. "Was it to protect them?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if it was." Neji nodded. "Even if the demon did have influence over you, we know you would never willingly harm your friends. Your heart is too strong." He placed a gently hand on the Jinchuuriki's shoulder was surprisingly free from burn. "And no one knows that kindness in your heart more than Sakura."

"Sakura..." Naruto murmured. "Last time I transformed, I nearly killed her. Who knows what's happened to her now?"

"She's perfectly fine." Sonic stated quickly. "In fact, I would say that she's with Marine and the others by now. She was really worried about you."

"Do you...think she'll want to see me?" Naruto said, referring to his appearance. "Like this?"

"Sakura doesn't care what you look like." Sonic replied strongly. "Deep down, we all know you're the same Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage!"

Despite the skull covering his face, the Keyblade Master could sense that he was smiling underneath. Naruto's horrific appearance couldn't mask the fact that he was still the #1 Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja of Konohagakure. After spending a quarter of an hour trying to convince him, Naruto finally agreed to see Sakura to prove that she still cared. And afterward, they would worry about the enigmatic Pein.

* * *

**Even in the deepest darkness, light shines bright. Will Naruto be plagued to forever wear the mask of the Kyuubi? Will he be tempted by Pein's darkness again? And why does the Order member have such interest in him? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	21. Tears in the Rain, Part 3

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Twenty: Tears in the Rain, Part 3

The scene opens to the main entrance hall of the tallest tower in raining country, Amegakure. Sonic, Silver, and Storm were marching diligently from the left-hand stairway with Neji and the demonic Naruto in tow. Trying to stay alive under the demon's wrath was not a simple task. In any situation that Naruto would lose his sanity to the Kyuubi again, Neji was carrying the yellow Chaos Emerald in clear view – the fox's cloak curdled fretfully. The remaining three members of the Sonic Team had withdrawn their weapons – Sonic had a thought time carrying the Paladin – and armed themselves around every corner. The lack of Heartless wondering around was unnerving.

"_Where do you think they all went?_" Sonic thought questionably.

"**The Heartless have rarely fled when the Keyblade is near.**" Dark Sonic commented thoughtfully. "**I can certainly sense an alarming trace of darkness, but it mostly seems to be centered in one place.**"

"_Maybe they're having a party?_" Sonic shrugged.

"**And maybe you need to use that walnut-sized brain of yours more often.**" Dark Sonic replied snidely.

"We've collected the Chaos Emerald and returned Naruto to his original mentality." Neji said shortly, preventing the hedgehog from snapping at his counterpart. "Our next priority should be to locate the rest of the team and round up a search party for this...Pein."

"Where do ya think the others are?" Storm asked.

"**SHANNARO!!!**"

Shortly following the epic battle cry, the heroes struggled to stand as the tower was violently shaken. Something that sounded like an explosion was heard coming from the backside of the tower mixed with a few quivering noises and an inhumane screech. As the heroes recovered from the aftereffects of the sudden breakdown, Naruto walked past them on all fours with a playful grin on his demonic features.

"I think we found them." Naruto sniggered.

"And that is why a man can never beat a woman." Neji said, slightly shaken. "Especially if that woman is Sakura."

"They sound like they're in trouble!" Silver snapped seriously. "Let's get moving!"

Sonic and his companions followed the noises of battle to the farthest section of the tower; one the Sonic Team didn't realize existed. The Keyblade Master and his friends exited through the backdoor of the tower and suddenly found themselves in a bright and colorful garden. It was the complete opposite of everything else they had seen in Amegakure – gloomy and depressing. It seems that, despite the pipe-lined walls, the owner of tall structure had put more effort into this garden than the tower itself. Grass plots with a rainbow of colored flowers and leafy trees were abundant with cobblestone pathways circling between them. Wondering why they felt no rain, Sonic looked up and discovered a skylight had been smoothed into the surface of the walls to stop the rain from destroying this masterpiece. In the center of the garden – the team noted – was a porcelain statue of a short-haired woman with a flower in her hair wore a cloak with clouds and a pair of wings growing from her back. A small plague rested at the base of the statue.

_**God's Angel**_

"Man, this setup is nice compared to the rest of the place." Sonic said impressively.

"But that seems a bit unusual." Silver said thoughtfully. "Why is this section of the village so much different than the rest? If they had enough material and money to invest in this small garden, why haven't they put equal effort into building better homes?"

"Who cares about that?!" Naruto snarled impatiently. "Sakura, where are you?!"

"Incoming!!"

"Look out below!!"

The team snapped their heads to the sky just as two blurs – pink and orange – dropped and smacked against Storm, forcing the albatross to the ground. Marine and Angel were grateful to their large friend for cushioning their impact, shaking their heads to clear their heads. Looking from where the females had fallen, Neji was the first to spot Ino, Shikamaru, and Sakura cluttered into the corner by an unknown entity. Judging by the green glow radiating from Sakura's hands, one of them was injured. The young Hyuga was dashing across the garden to examine his team when Naruto's attention was drawn to the air above him.

"Neji, watch out!" Naruto roared.

"Huh?" Neji replied confused.

But by the time the wielder of the Byakugan could decipher his meaning; Neji was suddenly lifted off the ground and thrown forcefully tossed across the garden. The Hyuga warrior was tossed sideways into the garden pipe-wall, slamming his head into metallic surface with a dull thud, quickly falling unconscious. And while Sakura quickly dashed over to check on Neji, the remaining heroes sharply snapped their attention to their newest adversary as it made itself visible. A round Heartless with piercing-yellow eyes and a number of tendril emerged from the darkness, covering almost entirely in chains and restraint bands. Whatever the reason for these shackles completely passed over the Sonic Team, who had withdrawn their weapons.

"Hey, he's looks like one of those Darkball blokes we saw in Hollow Bastion last year." Marine said pointedly.

"And judging how it was able to throw us around, it's pretty strong." Angel muttered savagely.

"Sakura, take care of Neji and the others!" Naruto growl, crushing his claws into the cobblestone. "This freak is all mine!"

"I'm sure you wouldn't mind a little assistance." Sonic offered, holding the Paladin steadily.

The round Heartless, which would be later be labeled as a Shadow Stalker, hissed in a tone that could easily match Naruto's most fearsome roar. The Heartless Possessor drifted higher above the garden beyond the reach of the heroes and suddenly plunged into the ground below. Instead smacking into the ground like the Sonic Team had predicted, the Shadow Stalker vanished into the grass and cobblestone as if it were water. The effects of the Heartless's intrusion were almost immediate. All color of the plant-life transformed to deathly-black, the stone pathways were shifted to a vibrant shade of red, and the angelic statue was present with the Heartless emblem on her chest. The Shadow Stalker emerged from the depths of its newly crafted world, screeching challengingly to anyone that dared to stand in its way.

* * *

**Heartless Possessor: Shadow Stalker**

Mostly due to his long streak of impatience, Naruto broke from the ranks of his allies and made a dash for the Shadow Stalker. The Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki kicked off the ground and swiped the bone claws of the fox skeleton across the air, just barely missing the Shadow Stalker as it plunged into the ground once more. Naruto snarled irritably – his skeletal shell clattered loudly as he snapped his head back and forth. At the same time, the Sonic Team had formed a protective ring with their backs against each other and searched for the missing Heartless. Angel was the first to spot the beast when she noticed a pool of darkness forming at Naruto's feet.

"Naruto, below!" Angel screamed.

"What are you...?" Naruto stammered.

It only took a quick glance as the dark radiance below for the Jinchuuriki to gain enough sense to jump away. Unfortunately, the Shadow Stalker emerged swiftly and snapped its teeth over Naruto's left leg, lifting the demon vessel into the air. With a twirl of its spherical body, the Heartless Possessor tossed Naruto against the trees, snapping the strong trunk in two. But while the round monster was preoccupied with its latest success, Sonic came up from before and twisted his Keyblade in a diagonal angel across the Shadow Stalker's backside. The Heartless Possessor hissed out of pain and stared backwards in the direction of the attack, only to find Marine and Silver standing between them. In a synchronized motion, both heroes skipped forward for a moment, touched the ground, and thrusted their weapons forward to create a wall of emerald blaze. The Shadow Stalker shriek malevolently as the green fire licked against its smooth skin and retreated to the other end of the garden. Shaking his head free from the daze, Naruto literally jumped at the chance when the Heartless Possessor moved closer to within his range. Unfortunately, the Shadow Stalker once again disappeared when the Jinchuuriki was close, this time taking shelter in the trees.

"How does it keep getting away?!" Naruto snapped angrily.

"It's not getting away!" Sonic shouted surprisingly. "It's still here!"

To point the hedgehog's point, the face of the Shadow Stalker curved around the trunk of the tree in vanished into, only to transfer to the next when Naruto swiped his claw against the bark.

"**This Heartless can possess any object within its range.**" Dark Sonic noted obviously. "**This creature can blend in with its surrounding environment and use any object of at its will. Given the fact that this sanctuary is filled with suitable hosts, it would seem nearly impossible to force it out of hiding.**"

"_Well, we won't know until we try._" Sonic responded, smirking at the challenge.

Naruto was jumping from branch to branch, fighting tooth and nail to force the Shadow Stalker out of its hiding place. But the Heartless Possessor was continually transferring to the nearest host, tantalizing the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki. Naruto made another jump for the Shadow Stalker, only to discover that he had fallen for its trap......again. The branch's of the tree swung downwards and crushed against the demon's spine to thrust him into the pavement, fracturing it slightly. Sniggering within the hollow trunk, the Shadow Stalker attempted to withdraw its controlled branches, only to discover that they were being pinned down by Naruto. Struggled as it might, the Heartless Possessor found itself unable to break free from the Jinchuuriki's grasp. And just when the beast didn't think it could get any worse, Storm arrived out of nowhere and wrapped his arms around the trunk, attempting to uproot the possessor. So to protect itself, the Shadow Stalker escaped its shell and drifted off to reach its next vessel. It fell straight into their trap. All of sudden, Angel, who was latched to the wall, jumped overhead and the Heartless Possessor and body slammed it to the ground. After dazing the beast, Angel raised the Shadow Stalker over her head to prevent it from disappearing again

"Wow, you must weight a ton." Ino commented from the sidelines.

"I think after I'm done with him..." Angel growled, struggling to hold the Shadow Stalker. "Maybe I can chow down on a little blond annoyance."

Ino stopped talking from the point, miraculously.

"And now for the grand finale!" Sonic cheered.

With the Paladin held tightly in both hands, the cobalt hedgehog dashed forward to meet his opponent. Angel tossed up the Shadow Stalker and ducked away as Sonic skipped over her head and hauling the Keyblade in a vertical motion. Before the Heartless Possessor knew what happened, the Paladin ripped through its lower portion, dragged directly between its eyes, and breached through the top of its head. The Keyblade Master twisted in midair and landed perfectly poised on the ground with his Keyblade resting on his shoulder – the team stood side-by-side with a nonexistent wind blowing through their hair.

"How much longer do we have to stand like this?" Silver asked through his teeth.

"Five more seconds." Sonic responded in a hushed tone.

**Shadow Stalker: Defeated**

* * *

"Well, that was relatively easy." Sonic commented nonchalantly. "Compared to the other stuff we've had to deal with."

"Don't you think it's a little too easy?" Storm asked consciously. "I mean, that barely took five minutes. Most of our battles usually last for twenty minutes."

"**He's right, you know.**" Dark Sonic proclaimed knowingly.

"_And I hate it when he is._" Sonic replied dryly.

With the knowledge that no victory could be won that easily, the heroes drew their weapons as Naruto crouched lower to the ground, growling malevolently. As predicted, the Shadow Stalker wasn't even close to finished. The round beast was frozen in midair with the same crazed expression before coils of darkness cocooned its body. The outer shell shattered almost instantly following the enclosure with an evolved form of the Shadow Stalker. The new beast was now bipedal with murky-black skin and marsh-green vines coiled around its limbs and the heart-shaped hole in its chest. The enlarged Heartless had burning-orange tendrils merged to the back of its head, crimson-red claws, and broken chains on its ankles and wrists. The ravaged beast, known only as the Dark Thorn, curved its head to the air and screeched in a demonic tone – all non-demons winced at the sound.

* * *

**Heartless Liberator: Dark Thorn**

The Dark Thorn and Keyblade Master were caught in a classical staredown – Marine threw a random tumbleweed for added effect. Sonic tried to keep his eyes locked with the Heartless Liberator, but those piercing-gold were genuinely creepy. The Dark Thorn took the first step forward to initiate the battle, but it wasn't Sonic who reacted to the movement. The Kyuubi's influence overpowered Naruto's subconscious forced the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki to lurch ahead with his boned claw raised. The Dark Thorn presented the perfect counterattack by blending with the surrounding like a chameleon, causing Naruto to be thrown off his guard. The Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki withdrew his attack and landed on all fours, snapping his head back and forth on the spot. No matter what form this creature took, it always had a tendency to hide. The Sonic Team once again resumed to their protective ring with their weapons thrown ahead of them, watching for any sudden movements.

"This is one of those times when we could use the Byakugan." Silver said nervously. "At least then we would have a better chance of finding out where this monster keeps disappearing to."

"Well, the only guy that could help is out like a light!" Angel snapped irritably, twirling her daggers. "So you got any bright ideas, Mr. Keyblade Master?!"

"Why ya yelling at me for?" Sonic whined. "It's not like I can control what the Heartless does."

"I was expecting a litt – AHH!!" Angel screamed sharply.

Without warning, the pink experiment was lifted off the ground and catapulted towards the skylight, forming deep cracks when he back made contact. And while Angel dropped haphazardly to the ground, the remaining members of the Sonic Team jumped back slightly and dived back in with their weapons forward. Things never really go as expected. It turned out that the Dark Thorn had vanished once again and the four heroes only crashed into one another. Marine pried herself from the pileup, massaging the tender spot on her head where Storm's shield hit, and suddenly found herself hanging in the air by her ankle. She couldn't see the Dark Thorn, but she could feel its humid breath brushing against her hair. Taking a wild chance, Marine grappled her power orb, which had nearly slipped through her finger, and twisted her torso around to face the direction where the hot air was blowing from. The emerald sphere released its energy into the form of a green pipe, which had amazingly and coincidently stopped between the Dark Thorn's unseen teeth. With the position of the Heartless Liberator compromised, Naruto threw his demonic claw ahead, extending the limb beyond its average length. In an impressive display of the power of the Jinchuuriki, three extra claws formed from Naruto's hand and all four struck the invisible predator. A ten foot crater formed against the pipe wall upon impact, spraying water across the garden. With the makeshift rain washing over everyone, the Dark Thorn's outline was visible.

"Well, look at what we got here." Sonic smirked deviously. "I never was one for playing hide and seek."

"Just because we found it doesn't make it any less dangerous." Silver said wisely. "Just keep on your guard."

"Yes, sir!" Storm saluted.

"Suck up." Sonic muttered.

But Silver's worries were proven false. Because the Dark Thorn had lost its advantage of invisibility, the Heartless Liberator was forced to rely on nothing but brute strength. So as Sonic charged forward, dragging the Paladin across the ground slightly, the Heartless Liberator slashed its chained claws across the ground. The Keyblade Master swung him chosen weapon in a backwards motion, using the momentum of its weight to force a frontal flip over the Dark Thorn's claw. Once catching himself in the air, Sonic gripped the handle of the Paladin with both hands and slashed it across the Dark Thorn's chest with all his might. The Heartless Liberator hissed angrily as the weapon of twilight made contact with its skin, forming a deep scar across the heart-shaped hole in its chest. The Dark Thorn staggered backwards wildly as Sonic landed back onto the blood-red cobblestones. But his landing was not as graceful as he would have hoped since the weight of the Paladin threw off his balance and caused him to trip on his right side. The Dark Thorn saw the opportunity. It shrieked its possessive battle cry and brought its claw over its head just before something heavy clanged against its head. The Dark Thorn shook it head free from the star patterns running across its eyes and looked over as Storm retrieved his shield from out of the air.

"You take a break, Sonic." Storm grunted as he and Angel stepped in between them. "We'll take care of this guy."

"But I'm not tired." Sonic stated.

"We don't care." Angel said bluntly. "We just don't want you hogging all the fun."

The cobalt hedgehog openly whined, but the strength factor of team paid no mind. Angel stood behind her larger friend and the albatross raised his shield over his face before charging ahead for the Dark Thorn. The Heartless Liberator gripped its claw into a fist and thrusted it forward into Storm's shield, which naturally absorbed the impact of the blow. Storm provided the defensive means to block the Dark Thorn's blows, giving Angel the perfect opportunity to spot an opening to attack. The pink experiment skipped off her friend's back rebounded against the Dark Thorn's and latched herself to the beast's shoulder. Before the Heartless Liberator could pry Angel off, she withdrew her daggers from her belt and stabbed them into the beast's skin. With a pained shriek, the Dark Thorn spun in a fast circle and threw off the experiment and the daggers – they landed safely in a patch of flowers. Silver and Storm were the first to reach her.

"How are you feeling?" Silver asked concerned.

"I'm ok." Angel said groggily, her eyes spinning abnormally. "I'm fluffy."

"She's fine." Silver said shortly.

"No one picks on my best mate!" Marine frowned, stomping her foot. "You...you...big meanie!"

The heroes, ninja team, and Dark Thorn simultaneously sweat-dropped. Gripping her energy orb, Marine unleashed a stampede of emerald-green buffalos with their horns down in the direction of the Dark Thorn. The Heartless Liberator prepared itself by crossing its arms in from, parting the stampede as they passed by. The assault did little more than scrape the surface of the Dark Thorn's skin. But as the Heartless Liberator lowered its defenses, a giant green boxing glove appeared out of nowhere and delivered a powerful haymaker to the beast. The Dark Thorn was thrown wildly across the ground, stopping just a few feet from where the broken pipe was spraying water across the garden. The Heartless Liberator tried to lift itself up, only to discover that its hands and feet were shackled to the ground by fragmented stone. Silver was kneeling on the ground with his staff stabbed into the pathway, keeping the connection with the stone manacles.

"It's all yours, Naruto." Silver stated strained

"It's about time I ended this." Naruto growled lowly.

The Sonic Team stood back and watched as the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki moved closer to confront the Dark Thorn, stopping fifteen feet away from the Heartless. With the fox skull raised over his head, Naruto summoned a colossal collection of malevolent and evil chakra provided from the Kyuubi – Sonic shivered involuntarily. The evil chakra took the physical form of a black bubble hovering over the demon's mouth. Even if they had never witnessed the technique before, everyone in the garden knew that one shot was enough to wipe out a good portion of Amegakure. The Dark Thorn seemed to surmise this also as it began to struggle against the stone cuff preventing it from moving. But just when hopelessness seemed to dwell over the Heartless Liberator, a sudden flash of inspiration washed over it. With a swing of its tendrils against the pipe wall, the Dark Thorn closed off the pipe spilling water and opened a channel releasing steam. Thrown off by the sudden change in battle tactics, Naruto unwillingly diminished his technique and Silver consequently released his hold on the earth. The Dark Thorn was now free and invisible.

"Where is it?!" Storm cried.

"I think it's over there!" Sonic yelled.

"Ow! That was me!" Angel groaned loudly.

"Something just brushed up against my leg!" Marine screamed shrilly.

"Sorry." Naruto said meekly.

"This isn't getting us anywhere." Silver sighed heavily. "Let me just...."

The Babylon mystic waved his staff in circular motion, summoning the winds to brush away the clouds of steam that blocked their vision. The Sonic Team found themselves clustered in one space with the Dark Thorn nowhere to be seen. Storm and Angel stood back to back, Silver was keeping himself low to the ground, Sonic's hand was twitching against the Paladin, and Marine was sitting on Naruto's shoulder for some odd reasons. Everything was quite in the gardens.....nothing ever lasts this long. Without warning, Naruto and Marine and lifted into the air and thrown to one side, sliding across a flower bed, while Silver and shoved face first into the cobblestone pathway. Storm and Angel began to charge for their unseen opponent, only to be flipped overhead and slammed against the wall, landing unceremoniously next to the ninja team. Sonic was swinging the Paladin in random direction, trying fruitlessly to attempt at the Dark Thorn. The cobalt hedgehog felt a sudden pressure and lift thrown backwards off the ground until he heard a sudden crack upon landing – his left wrist was broken. Cringing slightly as he sat up, Sonic listened intently as the Dark Thorn made its approach from an unknown direction.

"_Any ideas left?_" Sonic asked hopefully.

"**For once, I have nothing.**" Dark Sonic stated hopelessly.

"_Man, I just wish there was some way we could see him._" Sonic said defeated.

But as he the Dark Thorn's footfalls were finally silent, Sonic unknowingly gripped his Keyblade for support, wishing more than anything that it would provide a solution. Turns out, it did. The keychain of the Paladin presented a faint glow and the a pulse of white light radiated from the shaft of the Keyblade. Sonic felt a familiar tingling sensation running across his body and realized that his own black/white aura was now visible. Naruto's red/black aura and Marine's spring-green aura were potted to the side, Storm's sunny-yellow and Angel scarlet-red auras were against the wall, and Silver amethyst-purple aura was only a few feet away. But more importantly, the deathly-black aura of the Dark Thorn was now visible, which it seemed to take note of.

"**Aura Pulse!**" Dark Sonic exclaimed scaring his counterpart. "**The Keychain ability is an Aura Pulse!**"

"_And that makes this guy one big target._" Sonic said victoriously.

Clearly fearing that the Keyblade Master would somehow find a way to use this as an advantage, the Dark Torn threw out its claw and grappled the Sonic around the middle. With a menacing hiss to the hedgehog's face, the Heartless Liberator turned and threw Sonic across the garden. The cobalt hedgehog was flying close to the statue of the God's Angel – he had a plan. Though he tried his best to ignore the pain, Sonic threw out his left hand and grabbed the wing of the statue and followed through in a full circle. Once gathering his momentum, Sonic spun back around in the direction of Dark Thorn's aura. The cobalt hedgehog curled him body in the motion with his Keyblade sticking out to perform and old favorite: the Spin Dash. The Dark Thorn raised its claw to meet with the cobalt sphere, but it's movement's were too slow to react. By the time the Heartless Liberator had lifted its claw, Sonic had already passed by. Everything was silent in the garden as Sonic landed on his knees behind the Dark Thorn. The Heartless Liberator stood frozen with the same mad expression of its former form until its body split completely down the middle. Both halves of the Dark Thorn fell sideways against the ground and vanished into the darkness with the captured heart free into the world – the garden had resumed its normal appearance.

**Dark Thorn: Defeated**

* * *

"Now, we've won!" Storm shouted pointedly.

"So you would think."

The collective members of the Sonic Team gathered together and followed the sound of the voice, which was coming from above. Through an ability that could only be accomplished by ninjas, No. III of Order XIII was standing horizontally on the wall as if gravity had no control over him. Naruto growled deeply in his throat, watching hatefully at the hooded man, who had dropped the accessory to reveal his true face. The man had deathly pale skin with medium-length spiky orange hair with an unreadable expression. There were two things that made him so abnormal compared to what Sonic had seen so far. He possessed an alarming number of piercings: six and one bar in each ear, two on his lower lip, and three through the bridge of his nose. But more over, it was the eyes that had drawn Sonic's attention – lavender-purple with a ripple effect around the pupil.

"Pein!!" Naruto roared furiously. "Get down here that I can kick your ass!!"

"Another time perhaps." Pein said monotonously. "I merely came to observe your progress."

"What is it that you want?" Sonic questioned.

"For the Order's goals, you are very valuable." Pein said cryptically. "But for my personal goal....I need to correct my mistake."

Pein's unusual eyes rested solemnly on the cobalt hedgehog just as they did when they last confronted each other in Hollow Bastion. Why did they seem so......familiar? Without warning, a tremendous force pounding against the Keyblade Master's head, forcing Sonic to grapple his forehead and drop to his knees. By the time the pain in his mind had subsided, Sonic could feel the cold sweat running down his face and the team staring at his with expressions of worry and panic. The Keyblade Master snapped his attention to Pein, but he had already vanished into the Corridors of Darkness.

"What happened, mate?" Marine asked curiously.

"I don't know." Sonic groaned as he was lifted to his feet. "I honestly don't know."

"**Your heart was reacting violently.**" Dark Sonic said collectively. "**Both of them.**"

Though he was still panting heavily from the momentary collapse, Sonic assured the team that he was fine. Sakura and the ninjas finally moved out of their hiding place and stepped up to greet their saviors. Neji had recovered from his blackout, but his use for leaning against Shikamaru's shoulder told them he had twisted his ankle. Sakura broke from the rest of the ninja at the same time Naruto pushed through the Sonic Team. For close to a minute, the Jinchuuriki and the pink-haired woman only stared at each other with equal relief and satisfaction. And then, without warning, Sakura slapped Naruto across the face with enough force to make him feel the pain, but not enough to be knocked out. The Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki just accepted it.

"Do you know how worried I was?!" Sakura screamed heatedly. "All this time, I've been worried that something terrible might have happened to you! Don't you ever scare me like that again, Naruto Uzumaki!!"

"I know...and I'm sorry." Naruto said sadly. "It's just....I thought that if I could...could control the Kyuubi...maybe people...wouldn't hate me so much. But I was just an idiot. A big gullible idiot."

"Naruto..." Sakura muttered softly. "Not everyone hates you. You've Team 7, Kiba's Team, Ino's Team, and Neji's Team that sees you as a friend. Konohamaru admires you and you became Gaara's first friend. Maybe some people are scared of what they don't know about, but there are still people who want to help you."

"I won't give up, Sakura." Naruto proclaimed seriously. "I'll keep my promise – I'll bring Sasuke back...for you."

Sakura smiled down at the transformed Jinchuuriki, grateful for his commitment and friendship. Now Sonic understood the real reason why Naruto wanted to accept Pein's help. When they had met back in Hollow Bastion, Naruto had told them the story of Sasuke leaving their village and his promise to bring him back. Naruto wanted to control the Kyuubi's powers in order to make himself strong to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, to Sakura. All of a sudden, the Chaos Emerald that Neji had been carrying gave off a recognizable glow and drifted into the air. Quite ironic, really. Holding his Keyblade in front of him, Sonic's mind wandered into another dimension, where only the emerald's light shined. The Chaos Emerald emitted a beam of light into the sky and formed into the shape of a keyhole. Sonic thrusted his chosen weapon forward and unleashed the Keyblade power to strike at the Keyhole, unlocking the next gateway. The Keyblade Master's mind was sharply thrusted back into reality.

"What just happened?" Ino asked curiously.

"A new path has been opened, mate!" Marine cheered.

"You're leaving already?" Sakura said disappointed.

"Being the Keyblade Master is a tough job, but someone has to do it." Sonic grinned proudly. "When I come back, I expect to see everyone working together, all right?"

"We'll see to it personally." Neji nodded.

"Have a safe trip." Shikamaru said. "You're welcome back anytime."

"Thank you." Sonic nodded, turning to Naruto. "If you hear anything about Espio, King Jet, the Heartless, the Order – anything at all – just let us know." Naruto nodded his head in acceptance; the fox skull clattered loudly. "See ya later!"

* * *

The scene alternates back to Hollow Bastion in Shahra's domain. The Ring Genie was enjoying one of the rare occasions where the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee had not cluttered her home. Shahra was sitting comfortable in her chair, turning the pages of an old scrape book she had carried for many years. Inside contained photographs of her time with Silver under Master Nyrox's teachings. She giggled at the picture of Silver stuffing his face with chocolate cake on his fourth birthday, splashing the contents of her and their master. Surprisingly enough, Nyrox seemed to have enjoyed it. But as she pushed on, her eyes drifted over the glossed photographs of King Jet's training days and of three newcomer that Shahra had trouble remembering.

"I wonder if they ever found there way back." Shahra murmured.

"Master Shahra!" Merlina cheered, slamming the door open as she ran inside. "Master Shahra, you won't believe what happened!"

"Please don't tell me you accidentally summoned the griffin again." Shahra said hopefully. Though the Ring Genie could see the potential in her student, Merlina didn't grasp the concept of magic as much as her master hoped. "I'm still paying for old man Ludwig for his candy shop."

"That's not it, master." Merlina shook. "I was walking through the Zero District, practicing my magic like you told me to, when I came across this." She held the object in question, a hardcover book, and presented it to her master. "The moment I saw the cover, I just knew that it was important."

"You're right, Merlina." Shahra smiled to her apprentice. "I think Sonic will definitely be interested in this."

* * *

**A promise to be kept is one to be cherished. Will Naruto ever break free from his demonic shell? What is the mistake the Pein seeks to correct? And what had Shahra and Merlina discovered? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	22. Chao of Memories, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Twenty-One: Chao of Memories, Part 1

The scene opens to the Corridors of Space between the connected worlds. The Sonic Team was passing through the stars of the galaxy following their short victory against the Heartless hidden in Amegakure. Though they had managed to defeat the Heartless for a short while, Pein of the Order was still at large. But at the moment, the thoughts of the depressing world were pushed aside as they resumed their mission to stopping Order XIII's plans – whatever they were. As per usual, Silver was searching through his handheld device for their next destination while the others relaxed after a hard day's work.

"We've already visited two new worlds and met two old friends." Sonic commented joyfully. "I wonder if we'll meet someone else we know in the next world."

"That seems almost guaranteed." Silver stated smugly. "Because the next world we're visiting is..."

But before the Babylon mystic could finish his sentence, everyone's Extreme Gear suddenly stopped, nearly throwing their passengers off. Storm and Silver managed to remain standing while Sonic had fallen forward onto the surface of his Gear, the Blue Star. Marine was literally on the edge of her Gear and Angel had used her antenna to pull herself back up when the pink board had successfully dismounted her. A simultaneous thought ran through the hero's minds. Why have they stopped? But the motion didn't last long before the group was suddenly jolted backwards in the opposite direction they were heading.

"What in Kingdom Hearts is going on?!" Angel exclaimed, clinging to her gear.

"The Gears are suddenly moving by themselves!" Storm screamed after his own Gear performed a flip. "Silver, make it stop!"

"I can't!" Silver grunted, maintaining a firm grip on his board. "It feels like the Extreme Gears are being pulled by magic – I can't counteract it with all this moving!" His gaze shifted over to the handheld device. "It looks like we're headed towards Hollow Bastion!"

"Hold on to your underwear, mates!" Marine screamed excitedly. "We're in for a ride!"

If only they understood what went on inside that head of hers.

* * *

The scenery alternates to the central region of the universe, where Hollow Bastion rested close to the boarder of light and darkness. After being forcefully ripped from their journey, the Sonic Team passed over the market square and landed in the district sector of the town. They knew exactly who had summoned them: Shahra. It was unusual that the Ring Genie would call them from the depths of space, but it must have been important if she was forced to use magic. The group waited until Angel returned from hiding the Extreme Gears from any potential thieves before trotting down the narrow alleys of the residential area. The town seemed in much worse shape than when they had left it, if that was even possible.

"I wonder what's up." Sonic said aloud. "Think Metal and the others found something about Espio or the Order."

"Don't forget about the king." Storm added helpfully. "I dunno. Maybe they found a lead that could help us find them."

"**Don't get your hopes up.**" Dark Sonic interjected. "**From what I understand, the Order has been operational for many years – a proven by our battle last year – and no one has ever heard of them. They are a stealth operation. But why have they suddenly decided to show themselves now?**"

"_Now that you mention it..._" Sonic responded thoughtfully. "_They didn't really show up much since I got the Keyblade. They were definitely interested in it and knew that it was the Keyblade of Twilight instead of Light. Ya think they might be watching me or something._"

"**Pein did say they needed you for their goals.**" Dark Sonic reminded. "**Just keep a sharp eye out.**"

The cobalt hedgehog didn't need to be told twice. This Order definitely knew more about what was going on than anyone else. Duskmon even said that he knew more about his father than the Keyblade Master himself. Speaking of whom, where was Duskmon? Was he one of the mentioned few that were eliminated according to Nyrox? But before the Keyblade Master could ponder this thought further, the sounds of battle erupted from their right and attracted the attention of the team. The front door to Shahra's home had been thrown off its hinges and Soldier Heartless could be seen standing over the threshold. The heroes had just drawn their weapons for battle when a column of light was expelled from the household, banishing the Heartless from the sanctuary.

"You think Shahra and the others are all right?" Angel asked worried.

"There's only one way to find out." Silver said with the air of authority. "C'mon."

The Sonic Team – their weapons still drawn – jumped closer to the entryway of the household and hid themselves on either side of the threshold. Sonic and Silver were pressed against the right side while Storm was carrying Marine and Angel on his shoulders on the opposite side. The Keyblade Master used his hand to command his friends to wait as he turned his head around the edge, peering into the home. It came as a relief that none of the Heartless had stuck around after the lightshow, signaling that it was safe to enter. They found Shahra panting heavily and leaning against her apprentice, who was trying to seat her master into the armchair at the end of the room. Both magic users were grateful as Storm assisted the Ring Genie into her usual seat.

"Thank you." Shahra nodded.

"Anytime." Storm replied happily.

"Well, you guys took your sweet time." Merlina scolded; the heroes flinched. "Master Shahra is exhausted from calling you guys in space and you have the nerve to leave us fighting the Heartless alone. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"A phone call would have been enough." Sonic shrugged; Merlina thwacked him with her staff. "Augh!! What is that thing made of?!"

"**You did deserve it.**" Dark Sonic sniggered.

"You'll have to forgive my apprentice's rudeness." Shahra hoarsely. Merlina looked downcast at the comment while Silver prepared some herbal tea for the Ring Genie. "As Merlina was saying, we summoned you here for something important. But using the summoning spell exhausted my powers – it drains more energy the greater the distance is. The Heartless must have sensed my momentary weakness and tried to attack us." Shahra smiled proudly at her student. "Amazingly enough, Merlina was able to repel the Heartless with her own magic."

"Aw, I just got lucky." Merlina said sheepishly.

"Seriously, I'm willing to trade students with you." Silver said hopeful while giving Shahra the tea.

"Anyway..." Sonic said forcefully, trying to ignore his teacher's comment. "Why'd ya call us back?"

"Well, I was practicing my magic in the Zero District when I cam across this." Merlina announced, waving her scepter in the air. "_Falciya Noven Toko!!_"

A brilliant ray of emerald-green light filled the room, blinding the captivated audience. And while temporarily dazed by the spectacle, Sonic could suddenly hear the sound of multiple cooing noises. The Keyblade Master and his team rubbed the light out of their eyes and resisted the urge to laugh when they caught sight of the sorceress apprentice. The red-headed female was covered from head-to-toe in black feathers with a colony of birds circling overhead.

"Those are rooks, Merlina." Shahra said humorously, snapping her fingers to vanish the birds. "I think this is what you were going for."

With a simple snap of her fingers, the Ring Genie held out her hand and summoned a hardcover book into her palm. She held it out for Marine to take and show the rest of the team, who was lurking curiously over her shoulder. The book was a very rare piece of literature that the team had encountered once before in the former Traverse Town. The covered showed Sonic sitting cross-legged in a grass field with tiny creatures jumping around him, one blue creature resting on top of his head, and a nasty-looking creature hovering in the background. The title was written above in golden lettering: Sonic and the Chao.

"Hey, isn't that the book with Sonic-Chao and the others?" Angel asked happily.

"That's definitely it, all right." Sonic nodded excitedly. "I can't believe it's been so long since I last saw it."

"It was very lucky that Merlina found it when she did." Shahra commented lightly. "The Zero District is a waste facility and the book would have been destroyed eventually if she hadn't found it. I summoned you back here because I thought you might have wanted to visit Sonic-Chao again."

"You sure called it on that one." Sonic nodded joyously. "Let's pop that book open and see if everyone remembers me."

"Now just hold on a minute." Shahra said swiftly, stopping the raccoon's hand from opening the clasp. "With the Heartless threat around, I think Metal and the others shoulder know about this. And besides that, we don't know if the book has been damaged or not." Sonic, Angel, and Marine hung their heads in disappointment. "Don't act like that. You'll just have to wait a little longer."

"Allow me and Storm to help you search for them." Silver offered. "You must be tired after such a complicated spell."

"That would be appreciated, Silver." Shahra nodded; turning to the remaining members of the party. "Don't open that book until we get back."

The three members of the Sonic Team gave expressions of pure innocence, but that didn't make Shahra feel any better about leaving them alone. In her own house, no less. Though she was hesitant to leave them, Silver and Storm assured them that Angel would be the responsible one and make sure they didn't get into any trouble. They are way to trusting. From the moment Shahra, Silver, and Storm were out of sight, Angel swiped the book out of Marine's hands and slammed the novel onto the genie's table, snapping the clasp off straight away. Sonic and Marine soon joined her, but Merlina looked scared. Almost as if she could feel her master's eyes watching their every move.

"W-we should do that." Merlina said feebly. "Master Shahra said..."

"I only want to see my old friends." Sonic reasoned to the sorceress. "I promised them I would visit whenever possible. I've been asleep for a whole year and I'll bet they've missed me."

"But..."Merlina resolve seemed to weaken.

"C'mon, mate!" Marine exclaimed in a supporting manner. "I'll bet you'd want to go if it was your friends."

Surprisingly enough, the little raccoon seemed to put up a decent argument. Merlina turned away from the group momentarily and started muttering to herself in a hushed tone, seemingly trying to weight the outcome of each possibility. It was only out of respect for his fellow apprentice that Sonic didn't dive into the book straight away. But after taking a moment to decide a verdict, Merlina turned back to the Sonic Team and nodded her head in approval. Silently cheering for himself, the cobalt hedgehog braced himself as he turned back to Angel, who was holding the book out for him to enter. The Keyblade Master broke into sprint and dived at the novel as a vibrant green filled the room.

* * *

**---Chao Garden---**

Everything was just as Sonic remembered it – he never expected anything to change after the year of forced separation. The cobalt hedgehog was grateful that this time around, he didn't fall flat on his face like he did during his first trip. Sonic took it a breath of pure-clean air and felt the brilliant sun touching his skin as he stared at the garden with a hint of nostalgia. He was standing in an open field with a few assorted bushes everywhere with a few palm trees providing shade and noticed a rock wall with a small waterfall filling the pond below. That wasn't there last time – maybe things have changed.

"It's hard to believe there is a world that exists without the Heartless." Sonic sighed pleasantly. "I've been fighting them for so long that I've forgotten what its like just to enjoy a peaceful afternoon."

"**This world isn't without its occasional evils.**" Dark Sonic commented.

"_If you consider Dark Chao evil._" Sonic laughed loudly. "_He's more of an annoying rash that won't go away._"

"**You.....got a point.**" Dark Sonic surprisingly agreed. "**He makes Eggman look like a genius.**"

"_And that's saying something._" Sonic replied; both personas chuckled. "_Now, I know I said I was going to look for Sonic-Chao and the others. But it's so nice out that I can't resist just relaxing for a moments._"

"**I don't really blame you.**" Dark Sonic nodded.

Chao Garden was truly a dream made real. Not only could the Heartless not dare trespass within the confines of this book, but the atmosphere was so pleasant that not even Sonic and Dark Sonic could find a reason to bicker. The cobalt hedgehog sighed in sweet relief as he sat under the shade of the nearest palm tree and closed his eyes to feel the wind brushing against his quills. Why couldn't every day be like this? While he pleasantly enjoyed the gentle breeze, he felt a sudden wave of air fly past him and disappear just as fast as it had begun. The Keyblade Master snapped his eyes open and focused on the source of the problem, which wasn't too difficult to identify as the creatures zipped and stopped directly in front of him. The creature reminded Sonic of the king's pet chao, Cheese, but with some notable differences. The tiny creature was dark-blue with three spikes sticking out of the back of its head and a bright blue ball hanging over its head. Sonic and the tiny creature stared at one another for a long moment before the tiny runner started jumping excitedly.

"Sonic, you're back!" The blue creature cheered. "I always knew you'd be back one day!"

"It has been a long time, Sonic-Chao." Sonic grinned widely. "I've been very busy fighting evil, but I managed to squeeze in enough time to visit you guys. How have things been in Chao Garden lately?"

"Eh, the usual." Sonic-Chao shrugged nonchalantly. "Dark Chao always try to come up with some evil scheme, but he never thinks things through and I always end up beating him. Tails-Chao has been working on some weird contraptions and Knuckles-Chao is obsessed with his fruit garden. Ya know he tried to drown me when I accidentally stepped on one of his grapes?"

"He just takes pride in his work." Sonic proclaimed. "That reminds me. Knuckles-Chao said he had some great recipes that I could try next time I came back."

"You struck gold on that one." Sonic-Chao said excitedly. "Knuckles-Chao isn't just a tough hothead, but he's also the best cook in all of Chao Gardens – don't tell Amy-Chao I said that."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sonic said, jumping back to his feet. "I've been looking forward to trying his recipes for a year now and I don't think I can wait a minute longer."

"Race ya there." Sonic-Chao challenged. Both cobalt heroes nodded to one another with rivaling smirks as they prepared themselves for a run – Sonic had his Kingdom Keychain in case. "On your mark.....get set.....G....!"

But just before the tiny blue hero could finish last part, everything around them seemed to stop in time. The wind had stopped blowing, the falling leaves were frozen in midair, and the rushing sound of the waterfall was unusually silent. Sonic stared at his surrounding environment with a mixture of curiosity and panic rushing through his veins. He wanted to ask Sonic-Chao if this was normal in the gardens, only to learn that the cobalt runner was halted in time as well. Then without warning, Sonic felt an invisible force hook around his navel and pull him into the sky.

* * *

Sonic landed with a smack on his back as he landed once again in Shahra's household. The cobalt hedgehog groaned from his sore back and looked up at the table as the book of Chao Garden snapped closed. At that same moment, Merlina dropped down to her knees and assisted the Keyblade Master in standing.

"I can't believe it." Merlina said meekly until exploding into a full blown cheer. "I managed to use the summoning spell without blowing anything up! Oh, wait until I tell Master Shahra!"

"Is there a reason why you summoned me back?" Sonic questioned grudgedly.

"Oh, right." Merlina said sheepishly. "The Heartless are back and I think they want the book. Angel and Marine are handling the problem outside, but they are a bit shorthanded."

"Then let's not stand around." Sonic said sharply, summoning the Paladin to his hand. "C'mon!"

Immediately upon his command, Sonic and Merlina dashed out of the home and entered the residential districted, where they found Marine and Angel struggling for their lives. The crowd mostly consisted of Shadow and Soldier Heartless, but they had the advantage in terms of numbers. The pink experiment leapfrogged over a Shadow, throwing its face into the ground, and tossed her twin daggers at a pair of Soldiers in midair. Angel tucked and rolled to collect her weapons before two Shadows managed to head-butt her. Marine had a wider range with her energy-based attacks as she summoned random objects with her power orb. But she soon learned that the limit of her weapon was only dependent by how much energy she could provide – she was becoming exhausted. During a moment of weakness when a Soldier twirled to attack the raccoon, Sonic jumped between them and used the momentum of the Paladin to cleave the Soldier in two. And on the opposite sides of the small area, Merlina had managed to successfully a barrier of electrical light to repel a swarm of Shadows threatening to cover Angel.

"You guys ok?" Sonic questioned.

"You could have gotten here sooner." Angel complained. "Did you remember to guard the book?"

"The book?" Sonic and Merlina repeated simultaneously.

The pink experiment resisted the urge to smack herself. A rhythmic pattern of clanks was heard and the remainders of the team turned back as a trio of Soldier Heartless ran out of Shahra's home. The Soldier between its two comrades had its claws raised into the air with a hardcover book held high. It was the Chao Garden book.

"Quick! Grab the book, mate!" Marine screamed urgently.

"I got it!" Merlina shouted eagerly, waving her scepter to the sky. "_Thundaga Cumus!!_"

A small black cloud over rumbling thunder appeared over the residential district and released three bolts of electrical energy to the surface world. The Soldier Heartless halted in their march with shocked expression at the imminent attack. Unfortunately, Merlina had yet to master the art of aiming. The lightning bolts curved completely around the Heartless and instead struck the individual members of the Sonic Team, charring their fur to a smoky black.

"Hey, whose side are you on?" Sonic said aghast.

"Sorry." Merlina apologized meekly. "I still need a little work on coordination."

"Never mind that!" Angels screeched, slashing a Shadow across the face. "Will someone just grab the book?!"

Sonic volunteered to chase after the book while Angel and Marine handled the Heartless threat – Merlina was ordered to stay out of the way. The cobalt hedgehog chased the Soldiers around the corner, knowing they were heading straight for the Market Square. If they had managed to make it to the public area, the townsfolk would be thrown into a panic and the Heartless would be able to escape in all the confusion. He needed to stop them now. Given the weight of the Paladin, Sonic had no chance of catching them on foot and the Spin Dash would be useless if he couldn't gain any momentum.

"_This is one of the rare times I wish Silver was here._" Sonic thought, sliding around the corner. "_He probably could have used some super spell to throw these guys through the wall._"

"**Yes, it's such a shame that your TEACHER isn't here.**" Dark Sonic said sarcastically. "**Because you, as his STUDENT, wouldn't stand a chance without a little MAGIC to help.**"

"_Are you trying to say something?_" Sonic asked cluelessly.

"**Are you - ?**" Dark Sonic stammered, completely baffled. "**Do I have to spell it out for you?!**"

"_A little..._" Sonic replied sheepishly.

"**You're the Keyblade Master!**" Dark Sonic screamed shrilly, causing the hedgehog's eardrums to pound. "**Use some magic, you idiotic rodent!!**"

Though he felt that the insults could have been left out, Sonic was feeling a little nervous about using magic. The cobalt hedgehog hadn't practiced his skills in over a year since the Dragon Tournament in Budokai – he crammed for the tournament. How much of his skills were still left. Well, there was no better time to find out. The cobalt hedgehog threw out his Keyblade, issuing the command, and unleashed a single bolt of electrical energy. Unfortunately, the Soldier Heartless had turned around the corner and the lightning smashed through the glass window of an old man's home – the elder screamed himself hoarse. Hoping for a better attempt, Sonic grabbed the pole of a lamppost to curve himself around and performed a simple blizzard spell to freeze the escaping creatures. But as luck would have it, the local mailman was delivering his rounds and unintentionally stepped in front of the spells range, suddenly transformed to an ice sculpture. Sonic was not having any luck with magic and the Soldier was almost to the stairway towards the Market Square. There was no possible way of stopping them.

"Come on." Sonic muttered to himself. "Move it...move it...MOVE IT!!"

All of a sudden, the world just seemed to stop around the Keyblade Master – he felt as if time had stopped around him. The Paladin vibrated within its master's hands, slowly lifting the cobalt hedgehog off the ground, light as a feather. To those who were existing at normal speed, Sonic resembled nothing but a blur of light as he charged across the district, bouncing off every surface possible. The Soldier Heartless had nearly made their way to the Market Square when a flash of light slash across the front and took out the leading monster. The duo stopped in momentary confusion, resulting in the destruction of the Soldier guarding the rear – the book carrier was alone. The Soldier tumbled and turned, clearly searching for the cause of the attack, but proved only to be in vein. Without warning, the blinding light dropped from the sky, crushing the Soldier in its wake, and released Sonic from within its protective barrier. While feeling proud of his magical accomplishment, Sonic was forced to lean against the Paladin out of pure exhaustion.

"_I don't know what that was..._" Sonic thought tiredly. "_But I like it._"

"Sonic!" The hedgehog looked over to find Merlina leading Angel and Marine. "Did you manage to save the book?"

"I stopped the Heartless from taking it." Sonic said nervously, looking at the fallen book. "But I don't think I saved it."

Merlina kneeled down and recovered the hardcover book, discovering that the Heartless were careless in transporting the object. The binding was nearly ripped off, a few pages were sticking at odd angles, and the cover was shredded by the Soldier's claw marks. All in all, it was a miracle that the item even resembled a book after the aggressive treatment.

"Think its ok?" Marine asked worried.

"It's difficult to tell." Merlina said with uncertainty. "With magic books, there is no telling what repercussions might occur when the book is damaged. It would probably be wise to venture inside the book and see if Sonic-Chao and the others are safe."

Sonic didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

The scenery once again returns to the wide fields of Chao Garden as Sonic returned to the tranquil world. As he looked around, he was relieved to discover that nothing had been extensively damaged during the Heartless rough handling. But there was still the problem of finding Sonic-Chao and his friends to make sure nothing bad had happened to them. And speak of the devil; Sonic-Chao was pacing back and forth in the field, seeming very confused at what he was doing. Without wasting a moment, the cobalt hedgehog dashed over to his little counterpart, who seemed shaken by his sudden appearance.

"Hey, Sonic-Chao." Sonic greeted warmly. "I'm so glad you're ok. For a minute there, I was kinda worried."

"Then you must not know my work." Sonic-Chao said arrogantly. "I'm Sonic-Chao, the fastest thing alive. I'm sure you'll be wanting my autograph. But I really need to get back to saving Chao Garden, so maybe we can talk later, whoever you are."

"Wha?" Sonic said confused. "You know, Amy-Chao would think you're being rude if she heard you. She probably pound ya into the ground."

"I don't know who that is, but bet I could outrun her." Sonic-Chao said confidently.

"You don't know who Amy-Chao is?" Sonic said worried. "What about Knuckles-Chao and Tails-Chao?"

"Ok, now I think you're just making things up." Sonic-Chao replied in disbelief, much to Sonic's distress. "Who in their right mind would have names like those? Listen, I know you might be a good kid, but I'm on a busy schedule. I have to save Chao Garden." He turned his back to the Keyblade Master, suddenly shooting a confused look to the sky. "But...who am I supposed to save it from?"

The speedy chao shrugged the question off and dashed ahead, disappearing over the horizon at super sonic speed. Things were definitely much worse than anticipated.

* * *

By the time Sonic had returned to his original dimension, Merlina and the others had already deposited the book back at Shahra's house. By which time, both magical masters and Storm had returned to scold their apprentices. Sonic, who was used to Silver glaring at him, watching sympathetically as Merlina flinched sadly during Shahra's rant It wasn't her fault that the trio wanted to visit Sonic-chao, but the ring genie argued that she should have stopped them from entering the book in the first place. But after finishing the shouting session, Shahra focused her attention back on the remains of Chao Garden.

"Anything happen in there?" Shahra asked seriously.

"Well..." Sonic said hesitantly. "Sonic-Chao doesn't remember anything. He didn't recognize me and when I asked him about his friends, he said he never heard of them before. I think something might have happened to his memory."

"I was afraid of this." Shahra murmured, opening the cover. "It seems that the Heartless did more than just damage the book. They ripped out the pages and scattered them again. But unlike last time, they didn't steal the chao – they stole Sonic-Chao's memories. And unless he gets them back, he'll be completely helpless."

"What do we do, Master Shahra?" Merlina asked weakly.

"_We _will be learning a little more about discipline." Shahra scowled, emphasizing the word. "Sonic and his friends will have to travel to other worlds and recollect the stolen pages from the Heartless. Chao Garden is the only world free from the corruption of the Heartless and it is the last cherished item in this world. We need to restore it to its proper balance."

"We will!" The Sonic Team saluted.

"That's good." Shahra said as she stepped forward. The ring genie dug her hand into her pocket and recovered a silver locket with a light-blue arrow on the face. "This is for you in any case that you find yourself needing assistance."

"What is it?" Sonic asked curiously, taking the locket.

"It is a variation of the Summoning Gem that I made myself." Shahra informed proudly. "Just simply concentrate on it with all your heart and you need only to say the word to summon an ally. I managed to find this particular one when meeting one of the Princesses of Heart on her home world."

"So it's just like when we called Spyro and Dorumon." Storm said simply.

"Exactly." Shahra nodded. "Now it's time to get a move on. I have to return to me _teachings._"

Merlina flinched at the mention of the word, knowing that it could only be trouble. Sonic wanted to point out that he and the girls were at fault, but he was already in enough with his own teacher judging by the glare. But now there was another thing to worry about. If Sonic didn't recover the missing pages of the Chao Garden book, there was no telling what would happen to his little comrade and the possible balance of light and darkness. Why were things never easy?

* * *

The last scene alternates to the shadowed forest that rested on the edge of Soleanna's boarders just before reaching the ancient palace. With ZoN and Lily's flight and Mephiles' escape, the area was left and abandoned and gave no reason for the Heartless or the Nobodies to stay around. But that didn't mean it was empty. On the contrary, King Jet of Babylon Garden was walking through the dark trunks, attempting to keep himself concealed under the Black Cloak. Since Sonic was awake, he didn't expect the Seekers to stick around any longer. But he had one more task at hand. The ruler of the legendary land stopped under the light of a small breach between the branches, staring into the darkness with a cautious eye. Not even a moment later, a second character wearing a Black Cloak stepped out from behind the trees and confronted the Babylon king. Judging by this character's body structure, she was feminine, but was not Lily or ZoN.

"What happened?" Jet asked suddenly. "I thought you were going to travel with Sonic and assist him in any case that the Order would try to capture him."

"That was the plan at first." The female chuckled nervously. "But when Mephiles turned traitor on us, we had to force a change in plans. We moved all our research to Hollow Bastion and waited for Scion to return his memories to Amy and become whole with Sonic's heart. I would have come back..."

"But Mephiles was still at large." Jet said helpfully. "ZoN thought Sonic could handle himself against the Nobodies and sent you to chase Mephiles and find out what happened to Espio. Looks like she was wrong for once."

"You have to understand." The female said pleadingly. "Do you know how long I've been looking for Espio. I just found him again and I don't want to lose him again."

"I understand where you're coming from." Jet nodded sympathetically. "But right now, we have bigger problems. Master Nyrox told me that Black Doom is back and he feels that he might be making an attempt to take over Babylon Garden. I can't go back yet, but we need someone who is just as informed and knows his way around the place."

The female Seeker went silent when the new reached her, suddenly coming to the same conclusion they were both expect. She held out her hands and summoned a vast force of darkness, giving it shape and form. Within her hand was a Keyblade with a pitch-black body, a red curved hand guard around the handle, and the teeth were shaped like the broken outline of a heart. This very Keyblade once represented the ultimate evil now existed for the purpose of the Seekers.

"So, whatcha got?" The female questioned humorously.

* * *

**Troubling news stretches across the universe. Will Sonic and his finds be able to recover the missing pages? What plans does Black Doom have for ****Babylon****Garden****? And who is this newest member of the Seekers? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	23. Training Sessions, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Twenty-Two: Training Sessions, Part 1

The scenery opens to the Corridors of Space between worlds as the Sonic Team doubled their pace to make up for lost time while returning to Hollow Bastion. Not only were they tasked with saving the universe from the Heartless and the Nobodies, their newest priority was to recover the missing pages of Chao Garden – again. With some...proper motivation from Angel, the gang of five was able to speed back to their original position and arrived in the atmosphere of the next world in record time. A sense of nostalgia expanded in their chests when catching sight of the familiar world.

"Budokai." Sonic grinned satisfactory. "All those poor people must have been so disappointed that their number one champion has been for over a year. But not to worry! Sonic the Hedgehog, Keyblade Master and champion warrior, is ready to give them a show they'll never forget!"

"Don't you mean warrior-in-training." Storm snorted.

"That's beside the point!" Sonic yelled, sticking out his tongue childishly. "I kicked Bojack's butt in the Turtle Cup, dominated Goku in the Saiyan Cup, and slapped Broly around in the Dragon! I'm the best of the best!!"

"**Modest, aren't you?**" Dark Sonic said sarcastically. "**And if I recall correctly, I did most of the work in the match against Broly. You only took him out after I weakened him.**"

"_We're the same person, so hah!!_" Sonic replied victoriously.

The Heartless persona, stammered quickly, trying to find a logical argument, but was sadly defeated. For the first time in living memory, Sonic actually one-upped his Heartless Counterpart. Marine was cheering at Sonic's speech in the background while the others rolled their eyes to his arrogance before diving down onto the world.

* * *

Down on Budokai, hundreds upon hundreds of spectators were stomping their feet and yelling themselves hoarse in the stands around the white, square tournament ring. Their praise was given to a dark-skinned man standing tall and proud against his opponents. Uub was a twenty year-old man with a wild, jet-black mohawk and a chiseled body structure that could effortlessly rival Goku or Broly. His attire consisted of a sleek-black vest with golden lining, baggy white pants, earthy-brown boots, and a golden belt with matching wrist bands. Uub stood calm and comfortable against five new opponents, who seemed to be made form a mixture of aliens, but all wore the same tacky armor. When really stupefied the dark-skinned was by the fact that they were all dancing and posing through the opening ceremony.

"Are you scared of us now?" The leader, a purple alien with horn, taunted while striking a pose. "Now you know the awesome power of the Ginyu Force!!"

"Are you done yet?" Uub shrugged. "I've got more people waiting in line, so can we get this over with."

"Why you..." The leader growled. "Ginyu Force GO!!"

The five armored warriors dived ahead with their fists simultaneously thrown forward to strike. Uub sighed in boredom and summoned his energy to form a vortex around his body, catching the Ginyu Force in its rift. And before the audience could even blink, the Ginyu Force was thrown over the horizon, twinkling in the distance.

* * *

**---Budokai---**

The Sonic Team finds themselves in a place _completely _opposite of the Budokai they have come to know. Instead of the sunny and regularly packed streets, they were walking around a dark and cavern-looking domain carved from pure-black stone. On either side of the cavern were two doors colored differently and between them was a large lake composed of – Sonic shuddered at the thought – blood. This seemed to be some kind of evil wasteland instead of a martial arts tournament.

"This place is creepy, mates." Marine shivered behind their leader. "This looks like some place for ghosts. There aren't any ghosts, are there, mates?"

"It could be possible." Storm noted; Marine hid behind Sonic and Angel glared at him. "Are ya sure this is Budokai?"

"Actually, I think we went a bit off course." Silver proclaimed sheepishly, holding his navigator. "We're definitely on Budokai, but we landed in a region away from the stadium." He started typing at the pad randomly. "According to this, the stadium should be right through...there!"

The Babylon mage pointed his hand and the Sonic Team followed in his direction. Just across the platform was a portal of green, spiraling energy. Shrugging off their own mistake, Sonic held his arm protectively around the fearful raccoon, and lead his team in the direction of the portal. That was until a thunderous cry broke out from their right. At the instant the heroes looked over to investigate, the doorway to the right cracked open, allowing a lone female to step through. She was around sixteen and rather petite looking, but the Sonic Team knew her better than that. She wore a red t-shirt, grey pants with a blue belt and chain in her right pocket, stone-grey boots and fingerless gloves, and an orange bandanna on her head. She was apparently distracted by something beyond the doorway that she was forced to release a wave of energy blasts to.

"Hey, isn't that Pan?" Angel asked surprisingly. "You know, Goku's granddaughter."

"Yeah, and those would be Heartless!" Silver said urgently.

For the slightest moment, Pan let her guard down and a swarm of Heartless jumped through the doorway. They were small and dog-shaped with navy-blue skin, swirling yellow-eyes, spiked collars, and the Heartless Emblem was present on their hindquarters – Marine was censored from seeing it. Later on, they would be labeled as Rabid Dogs. They group didn't have much time to react before the swarm of mutts piled on Pan, attempting to bite at her in every place. So as a last ditch resort, Sonic summoned the Paladin to his hand and tossed the weapon into the air. The heavy Keyblade miraculously managed to keep its momentum in the air and moved into a high arc to slash through each Rabid Dog in one swoop. The Paladin curved backwards to its originator, who staggered under the weight of the Keyblade when catching it. It's been a long time since Sonic has attempted the Strike Raid.

"Hey, you all right, mate?" Marine asked, offering her hand.

"Thanks, but I'm fine." Pan said determined. The stubborn teenager picked herself up from the floor and investigated the appearance of her rescuers. "Hey, don't I know you guys from somewhere."

"You may remember me." Sonic said in a vain manner. "I am the hedgehog who defeated the great Goku and conquered Broly in the Dragon Cup, taking home the glory and one wish from the mighty Shenron."

"**Funny, you weren't this confident when Broly was breaking your arm.**" Dark Sonic said exasperatedly.

"Oh yeah, now I remember." Pan said, rolling her eyes. "It's good to know that all the fame hasn't gone to your already overinflated ego." The Sonic Team sniggered in the background. "I, on the other hand, have been a humble fighter."

"You lost to Emerl in the first round." Angel commented.

"He got lucky!!" Pan screeched.

"How's your grandfather doing these days?" Storm asked politely. "We were hoping to say hello."

"If you wanted to say hello, you're a little late." Pan sighed sadly. "Grandpa went off with Shenron to continue his training and that left Uub to pick up his slack." All of a sudden, she started fidgeting excessively. "Don't get me wrong, Uub's a great warrior, but he's still only human. He's been fighting in the tournament for the past two weeks, barely taking a break. There are so many fighters trying to challenge him that he rarely gets any time to rest. He looks like he's about to drop."

"Where do they keep coming?" Angel asked.

"From Broly, of course." Pan said in a nonchalant fashion.

"BROLY?!?!" Sonic, along with his team, screamed. "But that's impossible. We killed him over a year ago when he went insane and tried to destroy the world. He should be in Hell by now."

"Where do you think we are?" Pan said, motioning to the area. "Broly's been causing a lot of trouble in Hell for months now, but he finally found a way to break through the barrier between the living and the dead." She pointed to the green portal. "That is the only way back to the living world, which Broly uses from time to time."

"Why doesn't Broly go and fight Uub himself?" Silver questioned.

"Probably because he was worried that you guys would show up." Pan said, boosting Sonic's ego. "I was just on my way to convince Broly to give Uub a breather. If he doesn't listen to me, he'll definitely listen to my fists!" She punched her fist into her palm for emphasis. "If anything happens to Uub....."

"Oh, I get it." Marine grinned deviously, along with the rest of the team. "It looks like you're in love with Uub, mate."

"W-what?!" Pan stammered embarrassingly, waving her hands frantically. "O-of course not! He's just a good friend!"

"Listen, I don't think you can handle Broly on your own." Sonic commented, walking past the teenage saiyan. "We'll have a little talk with Broly and tell him that the Keyblade Master and his faithful comrades are back in action. And if he wants to fight Uub, he'll have to get through us."

"**Hopefully this quest teaches you about modesty.**" Dark Sonic added.

"Ok, I trust you." Pan nodded. "But let's keep this whole chat-with-Broly thing our little secret."

"Our lips our sealed." Angel assured.

Gaining confidence that they would succeed, Pan drifted off the ground by her own energy and glided over to the glowing portal, heading back to the living world. The Sonic Team turned back to the entrance way she came from and decided to withdraw their weapons before facing the Legendary Super Saiyan head-on. The animalistic heroes slinked through the crack in the gateway of the chamber, arriving in a narrow corridor with a small stream of blood slipping down the path. Sonic tried to resist the urge to run the other way. The cobalt hedgehog may have participated in a number of blood-soaked battles, but that didn't mean he shiver at the sight of it. In reality, Sonic had a small case of hemophobia that he slowly learned to overcome during his time as Keyblade Master, but has yet to defeat it.

"Ugh, why does it have to be blood?" Sonic said uncomfortably.

"It wouldn't be Hell without it." Silver stated. "Are you sure you're going to be all right."

"I'm fine." Sonic said, taking a deep breathe. "I'm just a little shaken up."

"**This is actually the first time I knew you were afraid of something.**" Dark Sonic commented sympathetically. "**All this time, I was beginning to think you were fearless or stupid.**"

"_I just don't get it._" Sonic said frustratingly. "_I've killed Heartless, Nobodies, and a few good villains in my time. But every time I see just one drop of blood, it makes me feel weak. Even when I'm fighting, it still bothers me._"

"**Fear is nothing to be ashamed of.**" Dark Sonic said sternly. "**It proves that you have a heart. A soul that does not possess fear is a heart unbalanced and easily destroyed. It means your heart is strong.**"

Leave it to the dark hedgehog to think of something inspirational. Though he still didn't like the thought of being so close to blood, Sonic gathered up his courage and pushed on ahead with his journey. But just as they were taking their first steps ahead, a vision of black entranced them. A man wearing one of the Black Cloaks stumbled past and disappeared around the corner. There was not mistaking who it was.

"The Order!" Angel exclaimed. "What are they doing in Hell?!"

"I think that's what we're here to find out." Silver said. "Let's follow him."

"Watch out!" Storm shouted.

And just in time, too. Storm pulled back Silver and Angel while Sonic jumped away with Marine as another group of Rabid Dog jumped around the corner to block their path. They were accompanied by a small group of Shadows and a few soldiers that weren't of Heartless origin. The creatures were roughly a head taller than Storm with deathly-black skin, three claws on their hands and feet, which were menacing-red, and bulbous yellow eyes. The creatures obviously remember their previous encounter with the Sonic Team by their angry hissing.

"Hey, aren't these Black Doom's soldiers?" Sonic questioned surprisingly. "I thought we killed them all in Traverse Town."

"This is Hell." Silver said bluntly. "Where else are they supposed to go?"

"Here they come, mates!" Marine shouted.

The Black Warrior led the assault for the Heartless, stabbing their claws forward in hopes of ripping out the Sonic team's intestines. Both sides scattered when meeting, throwing the battle into five separate bouts. Sonic raised the Paladin over his head to block the strike from the Black Warrior and raised his right foot to avoid the Shadow Heartless. The cobalt hedgehog pushed his weight against the Keyblade to throw the Black Warrior off balance, giving him the chance to cut across its torso. After to two halves of the Black Warrior fell to the ground, Sonic swiped backwards to repel two Shadow make an attempt from behind. Meanwhile, Angel and Marine had decided to tag-team for the first time and managed to hitch a ride of two Rabid Dogs. While the comical Heartless tried to buck off their riders, Angel slashed her daggers against the faces of approaching Heartless, obliterating them from existence. Marine favored to battle from a distance and used her energy orb to create green armor for the Rabid Dog, which was used to pound against nearby threats. Silver and Storm stood back-to-back, using equal parts strength and magic wo repel the opposition. The Babylon mage found himself facing a Black Warrior, which was amazingly impervious to magic, and was forced to use his staff as a method of blocking. Silver could feel his footing becoming worse, but was fortunately saved when Storm's shield collided with the Black Warrior's head. And to repay for his rescue, Silver thrusted his staff forward and summoned a flurry of snow from the dragon's mouth, freezing the oncoming Rabid Dogs. It wasn't long that the team exited the battle victoriously.

"Well, that was kinda random." Sonic commented. "If Black Doom's soldiers are here, I wonder how many of our other enemies are wandering around here. If we run into Teridax, Ganondorf, or Voldemort, I'm outta here."

"I don't think we'll have to worry about them." Silver analyzed. "With this many Heartless wandering around, I doubt they'd be stupid enough to show themselves in public. The Black Arms are free because they are already familiar with the Heartless."

"Let's not get distracted, people!" Angel said urgently. "We've still got a mission! Uub's counting on us!"

"Roger that, mate!" Marine saluted.

They decided that villain theories would have to wait. Sonic, making a wide berth around the Black Arm's blood, followed behind Silver and the others as they proceeded down the pathway. Besides meeting occasionally Rabid Dogs and Shadows along the way, their trip through Hell was much more relaxed than they would have expected. If the Heartless weren't running around, Sonic had a feeling he'd be seeing more of his old enemies. He also began to wonder if Mephiles was wandering through Hell or had managed to escape the same way Broly did. Both scenarios weren't pleasant. They final reached the end of the cavern and face the entrance into the next section of Hell. Then all of a sudden, the black cloaked man from early shoved his way through the group, panting in a terrified manner.

"Hey! Where ya going?!" Storm shouted cluelessly.

"Gotta run!" The man screamed fretfully. "Run away! Gotta run away!"

He summoned the Corridors of Darkness and disappeared into the depth, leaving behind the confused heroes.

"O...k?" Sonic said awkwardly. "That was weird."

"**I wonder if all of the Order is as 'brave' as him.**" Dark Sonic said mockingly.

"He looked like he was afraid of something." Marine commented.

"It's like Master Nyrox said – it's not real." Silver said in a respectful tone. "Nobodies can pretend to have hearts, but they really don't have anything to feel. Whatever emotion they claim to feel is a lie."

Something in Sonic's chest told him otherwise.

* * *

Meanwhile, the scene alternates to a chamber not to far from the Sonic Team's position. A spacious cavern with jagged stalactites and Stalagmites sticking everywhere, rattling chains tapping against the walls, and a circular table standing in the center of it all, holding a large glass ball. Dr. Eggman was pacing around the table in agitated manner, sending occasionally glances to the man seating in the throne of stone across the room. The man was taller than most with a strong physique and messy black hair that reached to the back of his neck. His clothing was culminated from baggy white pants, a scarlet-red robe tied around his waist by a golden belt, scarlet boots, and matching golden necklace and bands with a single opal. Both evil menaces were watching the Ginyu Force face Uub, only to be defeated within seconds.

"This is getting ridiculous." Broly growled impatiently. "I should have known better than to trust those dancing fools to eliminate Kakarot's student."

"I told you they were nothing but trouble." Eggman said with superiority. "So, what are you going to do about our little friend, eh?" He started laughing, much to the saiyan's detest. "He's made a mockery of every fighter you sent at him, including Frieza and Cell together. Pretty soon, Hell is going to be standing room only."

"Shut up." Broly snarled lowly.

"Maybe the almighty super saiyan can take him." Eggman taunted. "That is, unless he's too scared to walk out of his little rock."

That was just about as much Broly could take. In that instant, the Legendary Super Saiyan jumped out of his throne and dashed across the room to Eggman, lifting the scientist by his collar. There was a noticeable difference in Broly. His hair was a pure-golden color and sticking out at every angle with his eyes transformed to a greenish-blue. For one instance, Broly pulled back his fist and prepared to crush Eggman's skull inwards. But a thought suddenly occurred to him – he powered down and released Eggman with a menacingly smirk.

"Actually, a super saiyan would do nicely." Broly said with a menacing tone. "And I know just the man to do it."

It came as a relief to Eggman that he would live another day, but he decided to keep himself distant from Broly. The Legendary Super Saiyan padded across the chamber – Eggman followed him – and arrived at a steep ridge. Looking downwards, both villains turned their attention to a whirlpool of black liquid just directly below them.

"If you don't mind me asking..." Eggman said hesitantly. "What's down there?"

"Just Hell's deepest dungeon." Broly answered simply. "It is a place that fat lard, Yama, keeps his most deadly and notorious prisoners. You could say it my home away from home." He held out his hand, summoning a sphere of emerald-green energy. "And now I'm going to summon one of the greatest menaces to ever wander the galaxy."

"Well...don't mind me." Eggman chuckled nervously as he backed away. "I'll just be going now."

The Legendary Super Saiyan only scoffed as Eggman used the Corridors of Darkness to escape. Why Black Doom chose that coward to be his herald was beyond him. Without further delays, Broly dropped the energy sphere into the whirlpool and watch the results. A cloud of pure-black smoke radiated from the whirlpool, slowly transforming into a bloody-red color. Broly took two steps back and watched as a lone figure stepped out of the cloud and touched the ground. The man in question was definitely shorter than Broly, but was just as fit and had jet-black hair standing on end with a prominent widow's peak. He wore only a cobalt-blue battle suit with white gloves and matching boots.

"So we meet once more." Broly said darkly.

"Too early for my liking." The man said coolly.

"The reason I set you free was because I wanted to make you a deal." Broly proclaimed. "There is a way for you to gain your life back, but only if you follow your instructions carefully. Kill Kakarot's apprentice and you will be set free."

"You must be joking." The man laughed mockingly. "I am the prince of saiyans. I would never bow down and serve low-class scum like you."

"Have you forgotten what happened last time, Vegeta?!" Broly growled shortly. "I could have killed you in the past if not for Kakarot saving your skin."

"I am much stronger than last time, Broly." Vegeta said confidently. "And if you don't believe me, why don't you try me out?"

"Then consider yourself fired!" Broly snapped.

Almost immediately, the Legendary Super Saiyan ignited his powers to the next level and jumped forward with his fist raised. At the same time, Vegeta's hair and eyes transform into a similar fashion to Broly, placing the two saiyan warriors on equal ground. Both Super Saiyans collided in midair, creating a shockwave that caused the cavern to tremble. Vegeta captured Broly's fist while throwing a punch of his own, which was also caught. With both warriors caught in a stalemate, they decided to use their heads...literally. Broly and Vegeta threw their heads back and slammed them forward for a damaging head-butt, which both didn't even flinch from. The saiyan warriors continued this action – the jagged rocks fractured with each impact – and slowly touched back on the ground. It was at that instant Sonic and his teammate finally arrived.

"What's going on here?" Angel asked, pointing to the glowing saiyans. "Who's the guy fighting Broly."

"I don't know, but I'm glad he's on my side." Sonic praised.

"Ugh! As if Hell wasn't bad enough!" Broly shouted when noticing the team.

"Your fight's with me, Broly." Vegeta said.

Without the villain noticing, Vegeta slammed his foot into Broly's chest and sent him skidding across the chamber, crashing into the wall. The Legendary Super Saiyan managed to pry himself from the wall just in time to block Vegeta's fist with his palm, shaking the chamber further. Broly grappled the saiyan prince by his wrist to pull him forward, surprising Vegeta enough to allow Broly an opportunity to counterattack. The Legendary Super Saiyan threw his hand in front of Vegeta's face and unleashed a steady wave of energy, throwing the saiyan prince away. Vegeta landed unceremoniously on the floor – his physical appearance resumed its natural state. Broly moved in to finish the job, but was disappointed when the Sonic Team stood between them.

"Get out of the way." Vegeta grunted forcefully, trying to push himself up. "You don't stand a chance against him."

"Hey, I beat this guy before." Sonic said confidently. "Just watch me wipe the floor with him."

"**Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to turn out good?**" Dark Sonic said worried.

"_Hey, you need to have more confidence in me._" Sonic said, feeling rather insulted.

The Legendary Super Saiyan merely chuckled at his words, waving his hands challengingly to them. Sonic was not one to disappoint. Without waiting for his team to follow, Sonic jumped into the air above Broly and swiped it downwards over his left shoulder. In a shocking development, the weapon of twilight only phased through the Super Saiyan, leaving him untouched. Broly laughed openly at the stunned look on Sonic's face before kicking him back to the rest of his team. Greatly angered by the attack, Storm raised his shield and stampede over to the saiyan, only to collide with the wall behind him. Like Sonic, Storm's attacks only phased through. In a last ditch effort, Silver summoned a large fireball from his staff, Marine called a swarm of spears from her energy orb, and Angel tossed both her daggers. Unfortunately, none of them made contact and passed through Broly like he was a ghost.

"What's going on?" Sonic panted tiredly. "Why can't we touch him?"

"That's what I was trying to warn you about." Vegeta scowled as he stood. "When you're facing a strong spirit like Broly in Hell, living creatures can't touch him. You might be able to fight weaker foes at your current state, but Broly is on another level."

"We never stood a chance to begin with." Angel said defeated.

"What do we do now, mates?" Marine asked nervously.

"Now is the part where you die!" Broly roared.

The Sonic Team staggered back fearfully, unconsciously frozen by Broly's immense power. So at the last moment, Vegeta cupped his palms together and released a devastating blast of yellow energy from his hands to collide with Broly's chest. The Legendary Super Saiyan was thrown backwards by the attack and shot out of the chamber, providing them with enough time to escape unnoticed.

"We need to leave now." Vegeta growled, grabbing Sonic by the arm.

"But I need to talk to Broly!" Sonic said urgently.

"**Do you really want to talk to a psychopathic maniac when you can't fight back?**" Dark Sonic argued logically.

"_Good point._" Sonic replied. "_First we'll deal with this Hell thing and then we'll talk to Broly._"

Without putting up any more resistance, the Sonic Team diligently follow Vegeta out of the chamber and into the central cavern of Hell. Silver was the first to make his way back to the original route they came from until Vegeta pointed out that Broly could easily follow them. So to throw off the Legendary Super Saiyan, the group took a pathway to the far left of the area that was rarely used by spirits outside the working staff. Once reaching a safe chamber to rest, the heroes settled themselves into place, panting heavily.

"I don't...think I've...ever been...this tired." Marine wheezed.

"You're usually full of energy." Storm groaned, leaning against the wall. "Something about this place must be draining us of our powers."

"Unless your dead, Hell is not the best place to fight." Vegeta advised. "Its takes a lot long for you to regain your strength and it takes a lot more energy to perform even the simplest of attacks. In this dimension, moderation is the key."

"Wow, that's really smart." Sonic said admiringly. "You must be a great warrior like Goku."

"In all honest, I could never compare to Kakarot." Vegeta said modestly. "But I do have my fair share of victories. By the way, my name is Vegeta."

"I'm Sonic."

"Silver's the name."

"Storm here."

"Angel..."

"Marine, mate!"

"I have a feeling we were fated to meet." Vegeta said smugly. "Perhaps you are in need of a guardian or something."

"Guardian?" Sonic repeated ludicrously. "Thanks, but no thanks. I am the Dragon Cup champion and I don't need a guardian to look after me."

"**That's right.**" Dark Sonic said; Sonic grinned pridefully. "**We would need an entire military to keep you safe.**"

Shaking off the insult, Sonic kicked back to his feet and continued to walk down the corridor, attempting to exert as little energy as possible. The Sonic Team followed in step one-by-one until only Vegeta was left behind. The confident smirk on Vegeta's expression was something of curiosity. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

Back at Broly's chamber, the Legendary Super Saiyan recovered from Vegeta's sneak attack and was pacing around the chamber irritably. Eggman had returned only to taunt the saiyan, much to Broly's annoyance.

"I've got Heartless all over Hell by now." Eggman stated gloatingly. "So just leave the Keyblade Master and his annoying friends to me. All you need to do is work on turning Uub into a Heartless. Then he'll be all mine."

"SHUT UP!!!" Broly roared furiously; his hair flashed dangerously. "If anyone is going to kill that stupid rodent, it's going to be me!!" He turned his back to the doctor, shuddering as he slowly lowered his temper. "If they think they can escape Hell this easily, they've got another thing coming."

Just outside the chamber, in the shadowed chasm below, a hungry growl vibrated against the walls.

* * *

**A trip to a strange new world brings consequences. Will Sonic and his friend be able to overcome Hell's curse? Will Broly succeed in defeating Uub? And how will Vegeta's role affect the team? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	24. Training Sessions, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Twenty-Three: Training Sessions, Part 2

The scenery returns to the entrance of the eastern area of Hell a few moments following their close encounter with Broly. Due to Vegeta's well-played shortcut, the Sonic Team had managed to reach the gateway much faster than they would have normally. However, that did not mean they were faster than Broly's messengers. Sonic was dashing alongside Vegeta with the rest of his team following behind when they spotted a familiar band of alien enforcers clinging to the wall.

"Black Arms!" Angel cried.

"They're trying to seal us in!" Silver shouted.

True enough, the Black Warrior's were bracing a single lock formed from black matter, effectively cutting them off from the main entrance. Sonic was quick to summon his Keyblade, ready for a second round against them, when Vegeta suddenly jumped in front. The Keyblade Master could feel a sense of authority and power radiating from the Prince of Saiyans that sent chills down his spinal cord. Without a wasted moment, Vegeta held his hand out in the direction of the Black Warriors – miniscule spheres of energy formed at his finger tips. The Saiyan Prince released five scattered beams from his fingers – each of them stabbed between the soldier's eyes. The Sonic Team watched in awe as the Black Warrior's literally dropped like flies.

"I know this is a bad time..." Sonic commented. "But that was so cool! Not as cool as being the Dragon Cup Champion, but still!"

"**Would you mind being a little humble.**" Dark Sonic grunted sarcastically. "**It's getting a bit cramped in here with your enormous ego.**"

"_You're just jealous that you're not the Dragon Cup Champion._" Sonic said importantly.

"**We're the same person, idiot.**" Dark Sonic Retorted.

The cobalt hedgehog smacked himself – his own trick was used against him. And despite the obviously fruitless efforts, Angel and Storm tried to pull the doors apart with all their might and led to no avail. Hell had seriously drained them of most of their power and they had a suspicion that it wouldn't be long before they were made permanent residents. After nearly two minutes of effort, the dynamic duo was forced to stop out of pure exhaustion – Storm was panting heavily against the doorway and Angel simply dropped on the ground.

"Gah! Is that the best you got?!" Vegeta shouted arrogantly. "With power like that, it's a wonder how you managed to defeat Broly! Stand aside and let a real warrior show you how it's done!"

Though the insults could have been left out, Sonic and Silver dragged their largest member away while Marine carried Angel to a safe distance. Now nothing stood between Vegeta and the gateway. The all-powerful Prince of Saiyans curled his finger and cupped his hands together close to his abdomen, gathering a sufficient amount of energy. The energy was given the shape of a fuchsia-colored sphere between his palms – sparks streaked across his gloves. Sonic could feel his hair standing on end just from the feel of the collective power and marveled as Vegeta released all the energy into one point with a monster cry.

"**Galick Gun!!**"

A beam from the collective energy exploded from Vegeta's palm as he thrusted his hands forward. The Sonic Team was forced to shield their eyes as the blest made contact with the gateway the remainder of Hell. It took several long moments before the light subsided and the heroes were given a chance to check their progress. The large cloud of smoke that had formed with the blast was clearing and the lock was discovered to be.....unscratched. A pregnant pause of awkwardness filled the chamber before Vegeta broke the silence, scratching his chin as he turned to the heroes.

"I missed." Vegeta said sheepishly; the heroes face-faulted.

"How could you possibly miss something that big?!?!" Silver screeched.

"Calm down, Silv." Sonic said nonchalantly, summoning the Paladin. "If it's lock, then I'll just open it."

"You sure that piece of metal will work?" Vegeta questioned unconvinced.

"There hasn't been a lock the Keyblade hasn't been able to open." Sonic said confidently.

The cobalt hedgehog raised his chosen weapon to the dark lock until a resonating snarl rebounded against the chamber walls. Sonic and his companions turned on their heels towards the noise and struggled to stay on their feet as the behemoth dropped from the ceiling and rattled the area. Sonic gapped, but didn't seem too surprised to see the beast. A gold and black monstrosity with draconic features, a winding tail with a sharp point, and two wings that held a close resemblance to a beetle's. The draconic beast snapped and snarled at the Sonic Team – vengeful thoughts emerged.

"**What is that?!**" Dark Sonic exclaimed.

"_That's right; you weren't around at the time._" Sonic responded shakily. "_That's Hirudegarn; one of the first monsters that Broly sent to kill us. It was just dumb luck that we managed to kill him last time._"

"**What kind of trouble did you get in before I came around?**" Dark Sonic sweat-dropped.

"Don't just stand there gawking like an idiot!" Vegeta screamed, snapping the hedgehog back to reality. "Open the door and get out!"

The cobalt hedgehog didn't need to be told twice. It had been a while since he performed a similar technique, but Sonic stabbed the Paladin forward, summoning a beam of light to strike the keyhole within the dark lock. As expected, the dark lock disappeared, leaving Angel and Storm to push the doorway open with minimal effort. But by the time they had managed to open a crack wide enough to fit everyone safely, Hirudegarn lifted its tail and stabbed for the smallest member of the group: Marine. The rascally raccoon had never met the draconic demon before an instinctively held her arms over her head to protect herself. Thankfully enough, Vegeta – he activated his Super Saiyan form – dashed in front of the demon's trajectory and captured the spiked tail with his hands. It took a great deal of effort on his part, but the Prince of Saiyan used Hirudegarn's tail as a counterbalance and spun the demon in a complete circle before throwing him to the ceiling. Taking advantage of this distraction, Sonic quickly snatched Marine and made a dash for the gateway where Silver, Angel, and Storm were already waiting. But Vegeta refused to follow them. Now as the Keyblade Master, Sonic couldn't just abandon his friends like that. So without hesitating, the cobalt hedgehog threw Marine through the gateway and ran back to help.

"Sonic, wait up, mate!" Marine cried. She had managed to rebound off the ground and jumped back to help her pretend sibling, only to run directly into an unseen barrier. "Hey, what's the big idea?!"

"This must be Broly's work." Silver analyzed, pressing his palms against the barrier. "He doesn't want anyone interfering."

"You know, you must really have a death wish." Vegeta smirked as the hedgehog joined his side.

"Well, I'm already in Hell." Sonic said jokingly. "Might as well get some practice in."

Hirudegarn quickly picked itself up from Super Vegeta's counterattack and towered over the two warriors. At first, the draconic demon thought of killing the golden Saiyan for the earlier attack, but revenge always comes before pleasure.

* * *

**Dragon of Nightmares: Hirudegarn**

The floor cracked with each thunderous step that Hirudegarn took, making its way slowly across the terrain. Sonic instinctively stepped backwards from the Dragon of Nightmares, already knowing what to expect from it. But Vegeta's own arrogance and impatience got the better of him – he was surprising more short-tempered than Sonic. The Prince of Saiyans blasted off the ground, throwing Sonic partially off balance, and rocketed for Hirudegarn's face with his fist in front. And just as Sonic had expected, the Dragon of Nightmares dissolved into a purple mist before contact was made. Vegeta looked genuinely confused and searched the area left and right, unaware that Hirudegarn had already appeared behind him. And by the time he realized this; the dragon's tail had slammed into his back and threw Vegeta into the wall. While the Prince of Saiyan's tried to pry himself from the stone, Hirudegarn raised its tail for a second stab of opportunity. Fortunately enough, Sonic had jumped overhead and used the momentum of his heavy Keyblade to perform a strong Spin Dash that cut off Hirudegarn's attack.

"Hey, you ok?" Sonic asked as he landed.

"Of course I'm all right!" Vegeta snapped. "I'm the Prince of Saiyans! It is an impossibility for some worthless bug to beat me!"

"_Man, this guy has the ego the size of Kingdom Hearts._" Sonic thought exasperatedly.

"**Hmm, where have I heard that before?**" Dark Sonic commented.

Sonic was completely clueless. Meanwhile, Hirudegarn had lowered itself to all fours and opened its jaws wider, calling a heavy current of hellish flames from its throat. While Vegeta easily used his Saiyan prowess to dodge the fire, the weight of Sonic's Keyblade was once again proving to be a disadvantage. So in retaliation, Sonic swiped the Paladin across the ground and applied water magic to position before commanding it to rise. A wall of water formed in front and transformed into ice, obstructing the sea of flames from reaching its target. A thick cloud of steam formed from the connection between opposite elements, preventing most fighters from gaining a clear visual. Emphasis on most. Hirudegarn was tossing and turning in the haze without being aware of the glowing yellow energy being collected behind its head. The Dragon of Nightmares was clueless until the Prince of Saiyans broke through the silence with his palms pressed forward to unleash his energy.

"Prepare to die!!" Vegeta snarled. "**Final Flash!!**"

A colossal tunnel of golden energy was fired across the chamber, pierced into Hirudegarn's back and through its chest, and reflected off the barrier near the gateway. The Sonic Heroes – in and out – dived to the floor and covered themselves as the devastating technique exploded on the ceiling, causing debris to fall around them. The Keyblade Master managed to avoid the falling rocks and seemed to be in the clear until a boulder twice the size of his body slammed on his head. The boulder cracked down the middle, leaving a large welt on his head – Dark Sonic tried to resist laughing. Up in the air, Vegeta was panting heavily from exhaustion while grinning sadistically at the gaping hole in Hirudegarn's back.

"Hah!" Vegeta laughed victoriously. "So much for Broly's pet!" The saiyan prince continued to boast over his supposed victory until the hole in the dragon's back suddenly filled itself. "What?! But that's impossible! It should be dead!"

"We're in Hell!" Sonic yelled, nursing his wound. "Where do you think he's gonna go?!"

"**For a moment, I actually thought he was the smart one.**" Dark Sonic commented.

Hirudegarn growled lowly from the back of its throat as it turned back to the saiyan prince – the chamber rattled with each step. It suddenly became apparent at how much energy Vegeta had expended when he slowly drifted towards the ground with his hair returning to its natural color. The Prince of Saiyans staggered dizzily and dropped to his knees, panting heavily from the lack of strength. When noticing his comrade's weakness, Sonic finally began to realize how much Hell was drain his own strength – he could barely lean against his Keyblade. But Hirudegarn was still full of energy and was ready to unleash it all on the meddling interlopers. The Dragon of Nightmares once again dropped on all fours and unleashed a second wave of flames from its throat upon the unsuspecting duo. Sonic tried to summon water magic to his aid again, but Hell had depleted him of the energy needed to enforce the magic. Just as the cobalt hedgehog began to fear his imminent purge by the wall of fire, Vegeta suddenly jumped in front and used his own body to cover the Keyblade Master. Judging by the strained expression on the saiyan prince's face, Sonic suspected he was trying to resist the urge to cry out in pain.

"Ve...Vegeta..." Sonic panted tiredly.

"I am...getting tired..." Vegeta winced. "Of protecting you. Please tell me...you have at least...one ace up...your sleeve."

"_Without Storm, I can't use the Valor Form._" Sonic thought grudgedly. "_I don't have the energy to use magic and I can barely lift myself to my feet. The Keychain ability won't help me out here._"

"**But there's got to be some kind of...**" Dark Sonic began. A silver locket dropped out of Sonic's quills at that moment, igniting the Heartless with an ingenious thought. "**How could we have been so stupid? The answer was right in front of us this entire time.**"

"_Shahra's summoning locket._" Sonic said weakly, reaching out for the trinket. "_But if I'm going to..._" He became more vocal and turned to Vegeta, who had rolled off the hedgehog. "Vegeta, how much do you trust me?"

"To be honest...I never trusted you from the start." Vegeta grumbled exhaustedly.

"Well, I have something that might help us." Sonic proclaimed, propping himself up by his elbows. "But if this is going to work, I need you to give me all the energy you can spare."

"What?!" Vegeta snapped furiously. "You expect me, the prince of all saiyan, to completely strip myself of all my power and surrender it to you?! Why should I?!"

"Do you really have a choice?!" Sonic retorted.

Vegeta growled malevolently. If there was one thing that he held above all, it was his saiyan pride. He was the son of King Vegeta, ruler of all saiyans, and one of the royal elite – he was the strongest warrior in the universe next to Kakarot. And yet this common rodent was asking him to surrender his remaining strength for some foolish plan that might not work. Vegeta was ready to outright refuse when the rumbling from Hirudegarn's footfalls drew their attention back to the Dragon of Nightmares. The shadow of the draconic demon had barely touched them before Hirudegarn had raised its spearing tail into view – this sealed Vegeta's resolve.

"Fine – take it!" Vegeta snapped, slapping his hand with Sonic.

"You won't regret it, Vegeta." Sonic mumbled unconvincingly. "...I hope."

The transfer of energy was visible between their connected arms as Sonic redirected their combined strength into the silver locket. The Keyblade Master prayed with all his heart that it would work. And before they knew it, everyone within the vicinity was blinded by a sudden ray of light. Being the closest to the source, it took Sonic and Vegeta longer to regain their vision before they realized their unified summon was sitting next to them. The new summon appeared to be a twelve year-old boy with no present hair follicles and a strange arrow tattoo on his forehead. His attire seemed to consist of bright-yellow and orange robes that gave him the impression of a monkish lifestyle and placed a long staff on his lap. Sonic and Vegeta blinked in confusion, glanced to one another, and stared back at the boy, who waved cheerfully to the duo.

"Hi there." The boy said happily. "My name's Aang."

"WHAT?!?!" Vegeta roared savagely; he seemed to gain a second wind. "You mean to say that we wasted all that energy just to summon and pre-teen human brat! I should kill you right now!"

"How was I supposed to know?!" Sonic retorted angrily. "Shahra said he was supposed to be the best on his world."

"Oh, you know Shahra." Aang blinked surprisingly. "She was really funny. She showed me how to do some cool magic tricks – wanna see them?"

"NO!!" Vegeta snapped.

Hirudegarn seemed to have become impatient and stabbed his tail forward to silence the obnoxious cretins. Sonic and Vegeta flinched at the approaching danger, opposite to Aang bravery. The young boy quickly shot up to his feet with a look of determination as he held both hands in front and stomped his foot roughly at the floor. Shock filled the cavern. Before anyone knew what had occurred, a wall of stone formed around Hirudegarn's tail and halted its movements just inches away from Sonic's left eye. And despite its superior strength, the Dragon of Nightmares couldn't break free from the earth shackle. Aang narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and thrusted his fist into the wall, launching both tail and stone into Hirudegarn's stomach. The Dragon of Nightmares was thrown back into the barrier, which formed a dense crack within impacting. While Sonic sighed out of pure relief, Vegeta remained dumbfounded by the unusual power radiating from the boy.

"B-b-but..." Vegeta stammered shockingly. "But how could...?"

"Oh, I forgot." Aang laughed playfully. "I'm the Avatar."

"The Avatar!!" Sonic screamed in awe.

Even Sonic had heard tale of the legendary Avatar – he was famous in sixty-two worlds. But the Keyblade Master would have never suspected this boy to end up being one of the greatest heroes of all time. Sonic was nearly tempted to request an autograph from the boy until Hirudegarn stampeded across the chamber, screeching out of anger. There was work that needed to be done. Kicking his staff into his hand, Aang twirled the thin piece of wood and swiped across the air, creating a strong wind in its wake. Even when the Dragon of Nightmares transformed into its misty state, the wind carried the demon across the chamber and threw it into the wall. Hirudegarn seemed dazed by the sudden impact and left the heroes open to escape, which Aang had already planned ahead. The young Avatar twirled his staff overhead and pounded against the floor, forming a deep trench in its place – a similar hole formed on the other side of the barrier.

"Get into the hole!" Aang commanded helpfully. "It'll take you to safety!"

"What about you?" Sonic asked worried.

"Don't worry." Aang smiled. "I've handled worse than this thing."

The cobalt hedgehog seemed uncertain at first, but Aang's confident grin seemed to fill him with assurance. With a swift nod to the Avatar, Sonic pulled Vegeta's arm over his shoulder and dragged him towards the tunnel. But by that time, Hirudegarn seemed to have regained its senses and was not ready to surrender its prey that easily. The Dragon of Nightmares made one last shot with its deathly flames, but Aang jumped between them and used his special abilities to redirect the flames back at their originator. Hirudegarn roared disdainfully at the sizzling flames blinding its sight, remaining unaware of the two heroes escaping through the tunnel and reaching the others side. Panting heavily, Sonic tossed Vegeta forward, allowing him a moment to rest, and looked back at Aang, who gave a thumbs-up to the Keyblade Master. And by the time Hirudegarn had cleared its vision, Aang's summoning time was up and the Sonic Team was sticking their tongues childishly at the beast.

"Catch ya later, sucker!" Angel taunted.

Hirudegarn made a mad dive for the Sonic Team, but failed as the gateway shut in its face.

**Hirudegarn: Defeated**

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the realm of the living, Uub had just returned from another battle against an intense opponent and was leaning against the lobby wall with sweat dripping down his forehead. Pan, who had returned from Hell unnoticed, was mopping his face with a hand towel with genuine concern. Broly was still sending more opponents and the Keyblade Master had not returned from Hell yet. She didn't know how long this could go on.

"Uub, you're pushing yourself way to hard." Pan pleaded once again. "Come on; just take a break for the day. You haven't had a decent more or slept once in weeks." She groaned disgustedly as she rang out the towel; a two inch puddle of sweat formed. "You can't do everything, you know. You're not grandpa."

If I don't stop them, not one can." Uub said exhaustedly, forcing himself to stand. "Goku trusted me to watch out for everyone when he left with Shenron." He gave a weak, almost feeble smile. "Besides, what kinda of a hero needs rest, anyway?"

But the guise couldn't fool Pan – he was at the breaking point. As he turned away from the granddaughter of his teacher, Uub released a heavy sigh and walked out to the arena to face his next opponent, which turned out to be Cooler. The crowd cheered his name, but Uub felt that he could give out at any moment.

"Sonic, please hurry up." Pan whispered.

* * *

Back in Hell, Sonic was sitting cross-legged on the ground and leaning forward with Silver pressing his palms into the Keyblade Master's back. Though the world of the dead had drained Silver of his remaining magic as well, the Babylon Mystic knew a thing or two about relieving pressure points. Sonic shuddered from the feeling against his spine – it was like he was being rejuvenated. Once regaining full motion of his body again, the cobalt hedgehog jumped back up and stretched his arms with renewed vigor.

"Man, that was awesome." Sonic complimented. "If being a hero doesn't work out, you could always go into massage therapy with Neji."

"I'll keep that in mind." Silver smirked.

"Hey, mates, has anyone see Vegeta?" Marine asked curiously; the group just now noticed that the saiyan prince was missing. "I turned my back for a moment and the blighter runs away."

"I wouldn't worry too much about him." Sonic shrugged nonchalantly. "If anyone can survive in Hell, it's him. He definitely knows more about this place than the rest of us. Besides, we need to talk with Pan and come up with a different strategy."

"Can we just leave now?" Storm asked hurriedly; he watched a two-mouthed slug with a scorpion tail slide past. "This place is giving me the creeps."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Broly's chamber, the Legendary Super Saiyan was seated in his throne with a concentrated look on his expression. He was watching Hirudegarn through the crystal ball on the table in the center of the chamber as he was being carted away by King Yama's drones. The bug was useless to begin with. But while he had been watching the fight with the Keyblade Master, Broly had been listening with peaked interest to Dr. Eggman, who had been standing at his side the entire time. The Legendary Super Saiyan closed his eyes and began to process the information that he had just received.

"So let me get this straight." Broly murmured softly. "That Keyblade not only has the power to lock the Keyholes, but it can also unlock anything sealed or shackled?" Eggman nodded with a proud smirk. "Well, this certainly puts a new spin on things. Tell me, have you ever heard about Hell's forbidden coliseum?"

"Forbidden coliseum?" Eggman repeated interestingly.

"It makes the World Martial Arts Tournament seem like a child's playground." Broly informed menacingly.

"Then that's the place we're going to end little Uub's winning streak!" Eggman exclaimed in realization.

"That's the problem – King Yama locked it tight." Broly scowled darkly. "But if we nab that key, we can reopen Scarred Stadium."

"It's not going to be as easy as that." Eggman proclaimed pointedly. "The Keyblade only allows a selective few to wield it and I sincerely doubt that it would let either of us get a hold of it. That Keyblade has a mind of it's own, after all."

"And here I thought it was going to be difficult." Broly sniggered wickedly. "What this calls for is a woman's touch."

* * *

Back in the realm of the living, the Sonic Team took a moment to readjust their eyesight to the sudden flare of sunlight after walking through the same portal Broly created. Sonic rubbed the daze out of his eyes and blinked numerous times with a broad grin stretching across his face. How could he forget the narrow crowded streets, the sounds of laughter and cheering from end to end, or the hundreds of dragon statues that filled the world? It was great to be back. The Sonic Team felt a wave of nostalgia wash over them as they stared at the entrance to the World Martial Arts Tournament, the source of their greatest challenges. But there was a noticeable difference to the area as gilded statues with erected to form a row to the stadium entrance. Upon closer inspection, the gang of five quickly realized that they were statues made in honor of the tournament's greatest champions. There were statues of Goku, Chao, the so-called 'world champion' Hercule, and even Sonic himself.

"Champion of the Dragon Cup and notable warrior-in-training." Sonic smirked pridefully. "You hear that – I'm still famous."

"As if we haven't heard enough, Mr. warrior-in-training." Angel said mockingly.

"Aw, you're just jealous that you don't have a statue like me." Sonic said smugly, sticking his tongue out at the experiment.

"Yeah, that's the reason." Angel said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Ok, kiddies, you can play later." Silver said with authority. "Right now, we need to get back to the mission. Pan's waiting for use to tell her the news about Broly."

"I hope she doesn't get mad at us." Storm said worriedly. "He's very scary when she's mad."

"Aw, buck up, mate." Marine said confidently. "If the Sheila throws a fit, we can conk some sense into her melon."

"Then we'll leave that part to you." Sonic muttered quickly.

This didn't even put a dent in the raccoon's swagger. Sonic led his team through the doorway to the stadium entrance right at the very moment a massive explosion erupted from the tournament ring. They had a feeling that Uub had just been through with his latest opponent. Sure enough, dark-skinned warrior trudged into the lobby just moments after with Pan carrying him on her shoulders, ignoring the frantic cheers echoing from the stands. Uub had definitely improved since their meeting in the Dragon Cup, but a long period of nonstop sighting seemed to be catching up. However, the dark-skinned warrior didn't want to show any signs of weakness and tried his best to act natural when spotting the Sonic Team from across the lobby.

Sonic! Silver! Storm! Angel! Marine!" Uub shouted cheerfully, stopping himself from wincing while waving to them. "When'd you just get here?!"

"How's it going, Uub?" Sonic responded pleasantly.

"We missed ya." Angel smiled sincerely.

"You guys on another adventure?" Uub chuckled playfully as he walked over.

"You know, just trackin' down some friends, wipin' out some Heartless." Storm said in a nonchalant manner.

"Warriors-in-training always busy." Uub nodded appreciatively.

"I still don't like that title." Silver murmured audible.

The group laughed humorlessly at the comment, embarrassing the Babylon Mystic to no end. Due to the short intermission that was placed between matches, Uub was allowed to rest for five minutes and took the opportunity to talk with his old friends. The group of seven, including Pan, had taken their places on the lobby furniture and began exchanging stories of what they had been doing during the past year. As it turned out, Goku and his friends had united the energies of the entire universe to wipe out a single evil entity that the dark-skinned warrior had failed to mention. It was at that time that Shenron had chosen Goku to go for special training and left Uub to take his place as the world's guardian. And while Uub was able to give a thrilling story, the Sonic Team was disappointed that they couldn't share anything similar. They fell asleep just after defeating Mephiles.....right?

"So, did you ever find those friends of yours?" Uub asked.

"Still working on it." Sonic answered. "When we got here, we ran into Pan..." The cobalt hedgehog bit his tongue; their meeting with Pan was supposed to be a secret. And when Uub began to notice the sudden cutoff, Sonic quickly picked himself back up. "Pan...demonium. We had to help a friend out along the way."

"**Nice cover.**" Dark Sonic said sarcastically.

Fortunately, Uub didn't seem to notice.

"We crossed paths with Broly and found ourselves in deep trouble." Storm continued helpfully. "We found out that Hell won't let us touch Broly and that our powers are drained the longer we stay there."

"You wouldn't have any ideas on how to past that, would ya, mate?" Marine asked hopefully.

"Actually, I think I do know something that can help." Uub informed; the heroes grinned satisfactorily. "There's supposed to be this special stone that let's one resist the effects of Hell's curse. It's what Fortuneteller Baba uses when she crossed between dimensions."

"Think she'd let us use it?" Angel questioned.

"I don't see why not!" Uub said, clapping his hands together. "She wants Broly stopped just as much as the rest of us. I'll just go ask her if we can use it and then we can stop Broly." He jumped up to his feel, feeling immensely relieved. "While I go get the stone, why don't you guys get some training in? Master Roshi is waiting in the ring."

"Man, I haven't seen the old guy in ages." Sonic said, reminiscing on his fighting master. "I wonder how much has changed."

Apparently, not that much. While Uub left the stadium to retrieve the special stone from Fortuneteller Baba, the five members of the Sonic Team entered the stadium with overwhelming cheerfulness. The stadium was just as packed as it was in the Dragon Cup and people from hundreds of worlds had come to see Uub duke it out with their next opponent. And standing just outside the ring was an impossibly old man with a thin white beard and was entirely bald. He wore an orange Hawaiian shirt, a pair of blue shorts, green-tinted sunglasses, and massively large turtle shell. The heroes sniggered as they slowly crept up behind the old man, listening to whispering rambles.

"I swear that kid is going to be the death of me." Master Roshi grumbled. "Showing up late, missing regular practices. When he gets back, I have two words for him: Five million push-ups."

"Actually, that three words." Marine piped.

"Whah!!" Master Roshi screamed as he spun around. He was holding his chest in a panic before realizing that it was only the Sonic Team, who were doubling over in laughter. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the warriors-in-training."

"You're looking...good, Master Roshi." Storm complimented awkwardly.

"So, how have you guys been?" Master Roshi asked eagerly. "Have you finally earned your true warrior wings yet?" That question seemed to stump the heroes. How did they know when they become true warriors? "Nope, you ain't got what it takes."

"Aw, come on." Silver moaned.

"So, what have you been up to?" Master Roshi questioned.

"We just got in a fight with Broly and got our tails handed to us." Angel shrugged.

"Not surprising." Master Roshi said grimly. "Broly has gotten much stronger than when you last fought him. And without Goku around, it's hard to tell if there is anyone around strong enough to challenge him." He turned his back and sighed sadly. "Uub tries to act strong, but he's still only human."

"So, it's true that Broly's been sending monster's to fight him?" Sonic asked worried.

"Every hour of every day." Master Roshi nodded. "If this keeps up, Broly just might have what it takes to overpower our greatest champions."

"And that's not even the worse news." The group turned, surprised to see that Uub had returned much quicker than expected. "I just went to talk to Fortuneteller Baba about the stone and it turns out that she was robbed earlier today."

"Robbed?!" The group exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yeah." Uub nodded disappointingly. "She used her crystal ball to find the guy, but all she saw was someone wandering around Hell, wearing a Black Cloak to cover their face. He had a bunch of white creatures following him around, too."

"Black Cloak, white creatures." Sonic repeated thoughtfully. "That definitely sounds like Order XIII. I think we saw the guy running away from Broly earlier, but why would he bother going back?"

"Maybe there's something he needs." Uub said, but suddenly took an interest to the scenery. "By the way, has anyone seen Pan around? I know I was only gone for three minutes tops, so she should still be around."

"We haven't seen her." Marine blinked in a confused manner.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance." Uub suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder and looked back to discover Broly, fully resurrected. The dark-skinned warrior threw off his hand and jumped back with his friends. "Well, it looks like you still have some energy left. We'll have to take care of that."

"Hold on a minute." Sonic said bravely, standing up to the saiyan. "Broly, we need to talk now!"

"Perhaps later." Broly said bored. He flicked a single finger to the Keyblade Master's forehead, throwing him back to the ground. "Right now, I think you would be interested in a bit of mildly-interesting news. It would seem that your sweet little Pan has managed to...get lost in Hell."

"In other words, you kidnapped her." Uub growled spitefully.

"Detail, details." Broly waved carelessly. "Now, I know what your thinking. You're planning on rescuing your little mate, leaving all these innocent people stranded and helpless against my soldiers. But don't worry; my...friend will take good care of them."

"Like anyone would actually want to be your friend." Angel sniffed.

"Again, details." Broly said n an uncaring mood as he walked away. "With any luck, he shouldn't be too hard for your to handle."

And with that, the Legendary Super Saiyan disappeared into the stadium lobby with a confident cackle.

"I really hate that bastard!" Uub snarled.

"You just worry about your match." Sonic said seriously. "We'll taking care of Pan, you just make sure than none of Broly's goons attack anyone."

"All right, I trust you guys." Uub nodded.

Hearing the echoing cheers from the crowd, Uub suddenly realized that the five minute intermission was up and that the next match was about to begin. So while the dark-skinned warrior jumped into the arena, stretching himself out before the match, Sonic led his team back to the lobby and started making their way back to Hell. Along the way, they found Broly leaning casually against the wall, talking to some man in a business suit. He didn't look nearly threatening – Uub was going to have an easy match. But while the infuriating rodent and his companions exited the stadium, Broly shot a satisfactory smirk to his newest acquaintance, who didn't seem as pleased as the saiyan.

"All right, the Keyblade Master took the bait." Broly stated firmly. "That leaves you to handle the boy. Remember to follow the plan exactly as I told you."

"And why should I listen to you." The man scowled evilly. "You are nothing more than a filthy saiyan. Now that I am alive, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?"

"Because if there is anything you hate more than saiyans, it's Kakarot." Broly stated confidently. "And that boy out there is Kakarot's student. If by some miracle that you do manage to defeat him, Kakarot will come running to defend him. That will give both of us the perfect chance for revenge."

The unknown anomaly seemed to contemplate the logic behind it and seemed to come to the same conclusion that Broly had hoped for. In all his years of fighting the universe, Goku had gained some unwanted enemies. Though still glaring at the legendary Super Saiyan, the man walked by and entered the stadium – his veins pulsed anxiously.

* * *

**A struggle between the balance of life and death. What plans does Broly have for Uub and his newest ally? Will the Sonic Team be able to stop his plans? And where has Vegeta disappeared to? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	25. Training Sessions, Part 3

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Twenty-Four: Training Sessions, Part 3

Sonic and his friends were forced to transport back through the spiritual portal to Hell, Broly's dominated territory. As the Sonic Team had expected, their first step into the afterlife was difficult and instantly started to weigh them down. It was so much more difficult to walk through Hell when you're alive. But one-by-one, the heroes managed to summon the willpower to force themselves to stand, though it took Marine longer than the others.

"You know, this is the one time I wish the Heartless had killed us." Angel groaned, stretching her antenna. "At least then we'd have a better chance of getting around here."

"Well, we've got two choices from this point." Silver stated as turned to the left and right paths. "I know the doorway on the right leads to Broly's chamber, but there's no telling where the left path goes."

"So which way should we go?" Storm asked.

The Sonic Team literally put their heads together, creating a number of swollen bumps on their foreheads. Would Broly kidnap Pan and take her back to his shadowed lair or would he take her someplace the heroes didn't know about? Fortunately, their choice was made clear. A thunderous roar and irritable scratching noises could be heard coming from the gateway to the right, signaling Hirudegarn's anger and irritation.

"Left it is." Silver said quickly.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the World Martial Art Tournament. Uub was standing in the center of the arena, tapping his foot impatiently for his opponent to arrive. Pan was in danger and the dark-skinned warrior wanted to move this match along so that he could help Sonic and the others. He was thankful that Broly's next henchmen followed Master Roshi out of the lobby, only to find himself doubling over with laughter. Uub's next opponent was very unimpressive and the fact that he was wearing a prim and proper business suit for a fighting match didn't set much of a standard.

"You're Broly's latest goon?" Uub sniggered uncontrollably. "Man, quality must be running low in Hell."

"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover." The man said confidently. "You'd be surprised at what I can do."

"Let the next match begin!" Master Roshi announced.

But the match, just as Uub had predicted beforehand, didn't even last for a full minute. With Master Roshi's permission given, the dark-skinned warrior skipped off the ground, glided across the ring, and drilled his elbow into the man's esophagus. The unsuspecting man staggered backwards, exclaiming with choking sounds, and fell backwards in an unconscious state. Uub quickly landed back to his feet and ushered Master Roshi onto the stage. The unorthodox hermit, despite his old age, zipped across the arena floor and sharply thrusted Uub's arm into the air.

"And the winner is Uub!" Master Roshi announced. As the crowd exploded in applause, the hermit whispered close to Uub's ear. "Listen, I managed to convince the next opponent to wait for thirty minutes. Use that time to help Sonic and the others."

"Thanks, Master Roshi." Uub nodded. "You're a lifesaver."

The dark-skinned warrior wasted no time rushing out of the coliseum, not even bothering to use the door. He just kicked off the ground and rocketed over the high walls in a burst of powerful energy.

"That boy's got some spirit." Master Roshi commented. "What I wouldn't give to be young again."

However, unnoticed by the three thousands watches in the coliseum, the unconscious human's hand started twitching slowly out of reaction. The twitch travel up his arm and into his spine before developing into a full-blown seizure. There was barely time to call for the medical staff when the man's back was ripped open forcefully, expelling a silver orb into the sky. The crowds gasped and pointed to the shiny sphere suspended in midair. Just a glint and their fates were sealed. The hovering orb imploded and transformed into a shower of silver droplets that splatter against every patron in the stadium. The audience was thrown into a wave of panic as the silver glob crawled across their bodies and slither into their mouths, eyes, ears, and anyway into their bodies. Even Master Roshi was unfortunate to suffer the same fate. Then there was silence....followed by a rhythmic chant.

"Tuffles live....Tuffles live....Tuffles live..."

"That's right, we do live!" A sinister voice echoed.

The disemboweled man seized up once more, but this time with a much larger host ripping through skin and sinew. First came the head, then the shoulders, and the rest of the body followed shortly. This parasitic monstrosity appeared with a human structure molded from liquid silver, a curved point on his head, and lifeless blue eyes. A great present of his lower body and chest were colored metallic-blue and possessed a gold/red armor vest with matching ankle and wrist bracelets.

"Surprise, surprise!" The parasite cackled insanely. "Baby's onboard!"

* * *

Back in the dimension of Hell, the Sonic Team exited through the green archway and found themselves in a small chamber with a hazy mist covering the floor. Besides the unusual clouds of mist drifting through their feet, there was nothing out of the ordinary, which seemed very strange considering their position. Every so often, a small ball of light would appear virtually out of nowhere and disappear just as they came. Angel suspected that they might be bodiless spirits of Hell, which caused Marine to cover her eyes shakily.

"I don't like ghosts." Marine whimpered fearfully. "Ghosts are scary."

"Aw, they're nothing to worry about." Sonic stated comfortingly. To prove his point, he tapped one of the floating spirits and watched it evaporate into nothing. "See? Nothing to be afraid of."

"Except that we don't know where we are." Storm said worried. "I don't see anyway out of here. Maybe we should have taken the other way."

"And face that overgrown insect?" Angel said, slapping him over the head with her antenna. "You know we can't fight like we normally do in Hell. If we went up against Hirudegarn, he'd eat us alive."

"She's right." Silver acknowledged. "Sonic and Vegeta barely survived if it wasn't for the Avatar's help."

"Hey, I could have taken him." Sonic said defensively. "After all, nothing can be the Dragon Cup champion."

"**Yeah, right.**" Dark Sonic said mockingly. "**Then explain why you were nearly cry when you fought Hirudegarn.**"

"_I wasn't crying._" Sonic proclaimed embarrassingly. "_I...just had something in my eye._"

"**Sure...**" Dark Sonic sniggered.

"I don't see how we're going to get through this, mates." Marine said, staring out to the other side of the chamber. "Looks like the bloke left us at a dead-end."

"Don't say dead-end." Storm moaned.

"This can't be right." Sonic said hopefully. "There's got to be some kind of..."

But at that precise moment, Sonic disappeared from sight as he took his first step forward. Marine screamed in panicking tone and tried to jump after him, but Storm quickly pulled her back. Being the more resilient member of the team, Angel dived headfirst into the mist, surprised to find that there was a ten foot drop beneath it. The pink experiment flipped forward twice in midair and landed gracefully to her feet in the end. Angel bowed to an imaginary audience; feeling quite pleased with herself, and craned her head to the left where Sonic was brushing the dirt out of his quills.

"Nice moves, Mr. gracefully." Angel laughed.

"Shut up!" Sonic retorted.

"**You should consider that a compliment compared to the name I'm thinking off.**" Dark Sonic said tauntingly.

"_I didn't ask for commentary from the peanut gallery._" Sonic groaned.

After Angel called back up the wall to inform the others, the Sonic Team dropped down one-by-one. Silver used his telepathic powers to glide, Angel once again exploited her acrobatic skills, Sonic safely caught his surrogate sister when she fell, and Storm pretty much dropped on his beak. At least the heat was finally off the cobalt hedgehog. As it turned out, Sonic's blunder had discovered an unseen passageway that led further into the bowls of Hell, possibly in the direction where Pan was being held.

"How much farther do we have to go, mates?" Marine asked, panting heavily. "My legs feel like jelly donuts."

"Aw man." Storm whined, patting his grumbling stomach.

"Figures that the Order would try to make things difficult for us." Sonic said, brushing the sweat from his brow. "If only we had that stone. Then we could find Pan in a flash."

"I think we have bigger problems to worry about." Angel growled defensively.

Despite having no visual clarity, the team had learned long ago to trust Angel's animalistic instincts when it comes to sensing danger. The Keyblade Master summoned his weapon at the same time his friend withdrew their tools as he concentrated his focus into the darkness of the catacombs. Though Angel was still snarling from the back of her throat, the other members of the Sonic Team couldn't understand who or what she was growling at. The team took a silent vote and Storm was, reluctantly, chosen to walk ahead and investigate the matter. The bulky albatross shakily edged closer to the tunnel – his shield was propped close to his chest – and curved his head around the corner. Interestingly enough....there was nothing.

"See anything, Storm?!" Silver called.

"Not really!" Storm shouted back. "I think the coast is..."

Without warning, Angel dashed across the chamber on all-fours and sharply pulled Storm to the ground. It was quite fortunate given the fact that a shower of dark flames dropped from the ceiling of the catacomb at that precise moment. The Sonic Team instantly raised their weapons and looked up as the newest variety of Heartless appeared from the mist clouds. They appeared to be a close cousin to the Search Ghost Heartless, except these specters were chalk-white with a long tendril, giving it the appearance relative to an actual ghost. They had jagged mouths with golden circle above and below, a row of stitches at the corners, and the Heartless emblem on its lower body. For reasons that would be explained later, Silver would record them in his journal as Trick Ghosts. However....

"GHOSTS?!?!" Marine screeched fearfully, running smack into a wall.

"**Hmm, two seconds.**" Dark Sonic said nonchalantly. "**She stood her ground much longer than I expected.**"

"_Maybe she's finally getting over it._" Sonic replied.

"This is a really bad time to be fighting Heartless." Silver stated tiredly.

"It's not we're going to be given a choice." Sonic argued strongly. "Let's take them out quick so we can go rescue Pan."

Unfortunately, they were at a major disadvantage. While the Keyblade Master and his companions were dramatically weakened by Hell's curse, the Heartless were actually much stronger in this domain. Storm pulled himself to sit up and tossed his shield across the air, aiming it at the nearest two Trick Ghosts. Unfortunately, the floating specters drifted sideways and captured the shield with their hands as it passed between them. And using the weight of the shield to their advantage, the Trick Ghost's flung their shield back to its originator, who had barely ducked in time. Storm was lying facedown on the floor with his hands over his head, not daring to look at the Trick Ghosts as they hovered closer to his position. But Storm always has an unbeatable stroke of pure luck. The albatross's countered shield was forcefully stabbed into the cavern wall and formed a deep crack in the stone that stretched as far as the ceiling. A pair of stalactites were fragmented from their places and, miraculously enough, dropped to spear the Trick Ghosts through the head, evaporating them to darkness.

"Are they gone?" Storm questioned, carefully opening his eye. "Hey, they really are gone."

"How does he have all the luck?" Angel groaned, ducking a Trick Ghost's arm.

"Don't question it." Silver replied. "My head hurts just thinking about it."

Though the pink experiment wasn't satisfied with the answer, she had bigger problems to deal with. Angel was twirling her daggers in her hands, jumping and rolling to avoid the Trick Ghost while she looked for an opening. The floating specter flailed its flimsy arms in a random fashion, making it difficult for the calculative female to follow a pattern. So, when losing her patience, she just twirled her dagger above her head, caught them in midair, and threw them sharply at the Trick Ghost's golden eyes. She was hopeful when the silver knives managed to pass the flailing limbs, but was quickly dashed away. The ghostly heartless snapped then tendril on its head like a whip, easily deflecting the twin daggers. As the pink experiment's weapons were tossed to either side, she was forced to jump backwards as the whip-like tendril snapped at her feet. The process repeated itself, forcing Angel to walk backwards until she was quickly growing frustrated. Using her own antenna's to catch the Trick Ghost by its tendril, finding it surprisingly weightless and smashed it into the wall. But even when the Heartless faded into darkness, Angel dropped to the floor on her stomach out of exhaustion.

"Ooh...meega pooped." Angel moaned.

While the rest of his friends were suffering from physical exhaustion, Silver was troubled from a depletion of energy. Because to Babylon mage was lacking in stamina and strength, it was normal for him to fall back on magic. Silver weakly lifted his dragon staff and summoned as much energy as possibly to summon a snake of pure flames from the teeth. But in a surprising turn of events, two of the Trick Ghost flipped their bodies over, revealing that they were somewhat ambidextrous. From the rips in their mouths, the reversed phantoms expelled three dark flames each, forming a wall that collided and canceled out with Silver's own attack. Fearful that his own power had failed him, Silver dropped to his knees, no longer finding the energy to stand. This was the opportunity that they were looking for. The Trick Ghosts once again conjured a larger version of the black fireballs between them and threw it in the direction of the Babylonian mage. With nothing left but his own instincts, Silver gripped the handle of his staff and swung it around like a baseball bat. You would be amazed at how barbaric violence comes in handy as Silver learned while the Trick Ghosts burned in their own fire.

"Maybe Storm was right." Silver panted, falling back on his tail. "I really need to work out more."

This left Sonic to deal with the last three Trick Ghosts, who was thrown back by the hedgehog's unexpected ferocity. Unlike his other teammates, Sonic was full of energy and jumped back and forth between the chambers walls. After his last fight against Hirudegarn, Sonic knew he needed a way to fight harder in Hell. And that's when he remembered that he could draw energy from his Heartless persona, Dark Sonic. The Keyblade jumped in the center of the trio, slashing the one to his right with a single swing of his Paladin. With the destruction of their comrade, the floating specters snapped their tendrils, which Sonic effortlessly avoided by jumped upwards. By the time the cobalt hedgehog landed, he tried to resist the urge to laugh when seeing that the two Heartless had ensnared each other's tendrils. This was just way too easy. Not even bothering to put much effort into the blow, Sonic slashed his Keyblade horizontally across their bodies, watching them fade into darkness.

"_Well, that was easy._" Sonic thought proudly.

"**Speak...for...yourself.**" Dark Sonic wheezed.

"Ooh..." Marine moaned, conveniently waking from her unconscious state. "What happened, mate?"

"We just took out a few ghost Heartless while you were in dreamland." Angel mumbled as she flopped on her back.

"GHOSTS?!?!?!" Marine screamed.

"Let's not go through that again." Silver said sternly, pulling her back by her ponytail.

"Man, Hell's is really starting to get to me." Sonic groaned as he stretched his shoulder; Dark Sonic had cut their connection. "It feels like a hundred pounds of weights and pushing down on my body."

"We better save Pan and get out of here quick." Storm said worried. "If we don't we might become permanent residents."

"And I still have two hundred years to live." Angel grumbled.

"Things would be so much better if we had that stone." Silver said.

They didn't say it out loud, but the other members agreed with him. Not wanting to dwell in this realm any longer than they had to, the five heroes ventured through the catacombs, following the trail of Heartless that appeared as they moved along. It was only because they were in such a weakened state that they avoided fighting as much as possible. There were a few occasions when a Large Body and four Soldiers pinned them into a corner, but a loud sneeze from Marine caused an avalanche that allowed them to escape. And after walk for what felt like a hundred miles, Sonic and his friends walked up the slope at the end of the maze, sighing in sweet relief that there were no Heartless to be seen. However, that didn't mean they were alone.

"Hey, whose that?" Angel asked curiously.

The other members of the Sonic Team followed her line of sight to the steel doorway at the end of the chamber. They were amazed to find that a member of the Order – the same one that ran away from Broly – was staring curiously at the doorway. He must have just noticed them as he seemed a bit surprised while he turned around. When catching eyesight with Sonic he jumped only slightly and pulled back his hood to reveal the face beneath....or what was covering it. The Order member was only slightly taller than Sonic, but seemed relatively thin. He was wearing a red-straw hat along with an unusual mask that caused the Sonic Team to shiver at the sight. It was relatively hear-shaped made from equal part maroon and violet material, eight golden spikes around the face, and demonic eyes that could pierce into your very soul.

"Wait a minute." The member hummed. "I think I know you. Is that you, Scion?"

"Scion?" Sonic repeated confused.

"Come on, don't you remember your old pal, Majora." The member, now known as Majora, asked hopefully.

"I've never even heard of you before." Sonic answer weirdly, not seeming at all convinced by the statement. "_But it's weird. I feel like I've seen him somewhere before._"

"**I feel the same thing.**" Dark Sonic said thoughtfully. "**But we've never met before until now.**"

"_Then where's this feeling coming from?_" Sonic asked.

"Oh, it's no use." Majora said defeated.

"What in Kingdom Hearts are you talking about?" Silver questioned strangely.

"Let's see here – orders, orders." Majora mumbled, apparently looking for something in his pockets. Finally, he managed to wrangle and small slip of paper, unknowingly dropping some pieces of candy on the floor. "Ah, orders! 'If the subject fails to respond, use aggression to liberate his true disposition.'" He suddenly groaned. "Great. Man, did they ever send the wrong guy for this one."

"What's with this freak?" Angel gapped strangely.

"I think he might be lost." Storm suggested.

Majora seemed to fail overhearing them while he was digging through his pockets once again. This time, he pulled out two items: a powder-blue ocarina and an orange stone with a single red star.

"Hey, that must be Fortuneteller Baba's stone!" Silver exclaimed. "That makes him the thief!"

"Now that's just plain rude." Majora said insulted.

The unusual Order member lifted the stone directly over his head, covering himself in a ray of golden line. An aura of the same light formed an outline around the mask-wearing warrior before fading, giving him a little more color than before. Majora lifted the ocarina close to his mouth beneath his mask at the same time the Sonic Team withdrew their weapons.

* * *

**Tainted Deity: Majora**

Even though the battle had already begun, Majora didn't seem to be making an effort to fight. Instead, he contented himself to playing the Ocarina in a harmonic tone, seemingly insulting the Sonic Team. Now for those who already know, patience wasn't one of Sonic's strong suits. But if there was anyone that felt more taunted by the masked musician, it was Angel – she was a singing experiment after all. So without much of a plan to go on, Angel dropped down to all-fours and lunged ahead with her silver daggers positioned to stab him. But just as she was ready to rip the mask right off his face, Majora evaporated into nothingness, leaving the pink experiment vividly confused.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Angel questioned confused.

"The real question is..." Sonic gapped. "Where'd Hell go?"

The Sonic Team did a double take, learning that they were not in the gloomy cavern of Hell as they once were before. Instead, they found themselves in a thick forest that greatly resembled the one they had traveled to in Hyrule. Mighty oaks stood fifty feet above them with entangled vines between them, thick brambles of moss covered scattered pieces of ruins, and the wind blew gently through their fur/feathers. Something was definitely out of place. The Sonic Team clustered together in the heart of the territory, stand back-to-back to prevent any sneak attacks.

"Ya think he transported us here?" Storm asked curiously.

"To be able to transmit living organisms between dimensions requires high energy frequencies." Silver explained suspiciously. "Even Master Nyrox, with all his greatness, couldn't move between dimensions without assistance."

"Then how do you think we got here, mates?" Marine questioned.

"It must be some kind of trick." Silver said firmly. "Watch your backs."

"I would worry more about your necks than your backs." Majora echoed.

The Sonic Team snapped their heads to their heads to the canopy, as close to thirty individual masses dropped unceremoniously onto the leafy ground. Whatever they were, they didn't seem to be harmed judging by how fast they were able to stand – the reason was pretty obvious. The masses were actually wooden marionettes with thin limbs and wicked smiles painted across their faces.

"Puppets." Sonic said, moving to a defensive position. "He's not going to fight us directly. What a coward."

"I'm not a coward!" Majora shouted feebly. "I just...don't want to get my cloths dirty."

"Whatever, wimp!" Angel laughed.

A loud whine echoed through the tree trunks. The freaky marionettes cracked their necks left and right before throwing themselves bodily at the heroes. The group of five scattered, countering the wooden puppets with their individual attacks. Sonic swiped his Keyblade diagonally across three puppets at once, Shield body slammed his shield at two, Angle tossed her twin daggers at the forehead of her nearest targets, and Silver and Magic fell back on their distant abilities. But shockingly enough, not of it seemed to be taking any effect. The puppets only received small cuts and dents from the physical attacks and they would shrug off anything magical. The group of five were forced to regroup and watched while the wooden marionettes slowly marched forward in a repeated rhythm.

"Well, that's never happened before." Storm commented.

"None of our attacks worked." Angel said, suddenly feeling pain shoot through her shoulder. "And my body still feels sore. I thought we'd be better once we were out of Hell."

"Well...what if we're not, mates?" Marine asked; the team stared quizzically. "Before the bloke went poof, he was playing that weird music thingy. I heard from Shahra that sound can be used directly into attacking opponents invisibly or shutting down their senses."

"She's right." Silver said, blinking in astonishment. "There are also some reports that sound can be used to create illusions."

"Well, this is a pretty realistic illusion." Angel said, tapping the nearest trunk.

"Not of its real, we only think it is." Silver explained. "And as long as our minds think this is reality, we'll believe that we are hurt or being attacked. The best thing we can do is try to block out the illusion and find Majora."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Storm asked, raising his shield to block and incoming puppet.

"The way I see it, Sonic is the only one who can." Silver grunted as he jumped back. "He is the only one here with two hearts."

"**He's got a good point.**" Dark Sonic proclaimed. "**But the only way we can work this is by fusing our energies together.**"

"_Haven't we already done that before?_" Sonic asked, dodge rolling to the left.

"**We have always existed as separate entities.**" Dark Sonic explained. "**Even when you use the Oblivion's keychain ability, there has been a thin wall that has divided us.**"

"_Can't you get through it?_" Sonic grunted, using his forearm to block and incoming punch.

"**I can.**" Dark Sonic answered. "**But if we don't mingle our energies progressively, it could very well destroy us. Such unions take months to complete.**" He suddenly paused for a moment of thought. "**I could try to focus my energies only in your eyes to let you see Majora, but it will be painful. You'll have to move quick so that I can cut the connection.**"

"_Just do what you need to do._" Sonic replied.

He almost regretted his hasty decision. In the depths of his heart, the cobalt hedgehog could feel his dark persona stabbing at the wall, trying to force their union only in one place: his eyes. He felt pain unlike anything the Heartless could do. It felt as if his eyeballs had been ripping out by a blunt razor, pierced by over a hundred white-hot needles, and slowly being compressed. The torture forced the Keyblade Master to fall to his hands and knees – his chosen weapon dropped at his side – and held his palms to his sockets. The rest of the team started to worry and scarlet trails began to breach the side of his eyes. But despite all the pain, the results were worth it. Sonic's now piercing-gold eyes could see past the illusion and spot Majora still standing in the same place, playing his ocarina. Judging by the feeling of broken glass against his retina, he needed to move quick. The cobalt hedgehog quickly snatched the handle of his Keyblade and threw it forward in a high arc. In the realm of reality, Majora stared interesting at the Keyblade, not realizing the danger until it curved around and pounded against his shoulder. The force of the impact sent Majora tumbling a few feet and also to force him to drop his Ocarina and the stone. Sonic sighed in relief as the pain suddenly ended and the illusion was dispelled.

"Oh...Higher Powers." Sonic moaned, wiping the blood from his face. "I never want to go through that again."

"Are you ok, mate?" Marine asked concerned.

"Honestly..." Sonic said smirking proudly. "I've never felt better."

"**Now that we have tasted a sample of this unity,**" Dark Sonic said tiredly. "**Our energies will adapt and we will slowly become whole again.**"

"_That's....great._" Sonic replied sadly.

Though they were part of the same body, Sonic thought it was nice to make conversation with another part of himself. It was like having a constant friend wherever you go. But the thought of losing his companion seemed deadly depressing. Where would Dark Sonic go after the process was complete? Would he cease to exist....forever?

**Majora: Defeated**

* * *

"Man, you haven't changed much, Scion." Majora said lightly, rubbing his wounded shoulder. "Though don't you think you could go a little easier next time? You know I hate overworking myself."

"What are you talking about?!" Sonic snapped.

The Tainted Deity didn't answer, but managed to escape via Corridors of Darkness. But just as he left, a loose piece of paper dropped out of his pockets and fell to the floor without his notice. As Silver went to recover Fortuneteller Baba's stone, Sonic kneeled down to retrieve the paper. It was another page to his father's journal. Now that Sonic thought about it, Duskmon had once mentioned that the Order may have some connection to Zoan. Maybe this was what he meant.

"All right, gather 'round." Silver ordered; Sonic pocketed the page. "Now, let's even the playing field."

Just as the masked musician had done before them, Silver raised the vivid stone over their heads and released the golden light within. A sweet breath of relief washed over them – all their aches and pain vanished in an instant with color returning to their essence. They were finally free from Hell's curse and were no longer limited by its power.

"That's one mission down and one to go!" Sonic cheered excitedly. "Come on guys! We've got a fiery teenager to save!"

* * *

**A new mission and a new mystery from old and new. What will Baby do with his newfound army? Will the heroes be able to rescue the world and Pan? And what will become of Dark Sonic after the union is complete? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

**Zoan's Journal 5**

In this realm, where all existence has been disintegrated, I have just barely managed to preserve my sense of self by continuing to think and to write.

It is a place where even time has lost all meaning. Eternity is as but a moment here.

I must make haste. Certainly their plans are already underway.

The Heartless must be the key to unraveling this mystery.

The traitors were operating a laboratory that churned out those cursed shadows.

Not only did they generate "pureblood" Heartless from living hearts, but they then used those Heartless to synthesize artificial versions of the creatures as well.

These synthetic Heartless bore insignias and were called "Emblems."

Pureblood or Emblem, these Heartless act only to fulfill their instinctive needs. They single-mindedly detect hearts and swarm around them.

A being's commands would be ineffective: the Heartless would easily steal the being's heart and use it to increase their own ranks.

But what if an even stronger Heartless was giving the orders?

If he cast aside his own soul and body and became a Heartless, wouldn't he be able to control the otherwise intractable Heartless?

Furthermore, wouldn't he be planning to make use of the creatures' instincts? If the heart-seeking Heartless have their sights set on a larger, more powerful heart, their ultimate goal is crystal-clear.

The largest heart in existence—the heart of the world.

This is all conjecture, but it would seem he is utilizing the Heartless in his search for a path leading to the heart of the world.


	26. Training Sessions, Part 4

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Twenty-Five: Training Sessions, Part 4

Sonic and his team recovered from their short escapade with Majora without sustaining any major damage. In fact, the only one that got hurt was the Tainted Deity himself. Sonic would have wished to celebrate their remedial victory if it had not come at such a high cost – the cobalt hedgehog pushed the thought aside. Right now, they needed to focus on rescuing Pan. However, the Sonic Team ended up following the catacombs to a dead end and the aggressive fighter was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the group of five reached a small circular chamber with only a large, rugged rock layered in the center. The team would have normally ignored the boulder if it wasn't for the fact that it radiated with pure darkness and the multicolored indent shaped exactly like a keyhole.

"Think we'll find the Sheila if we open this, mate?" Marine asked, poking her eye into the Keyhole.

"I don't know." Storm said with uncertainty. "I know I'm not the smartest member of the group, but don't you think it's a little obvious. Broly should know that the Keyblade can open any Keyhole after working with Black Doom for so long. Why would he just leave this where we can find it?"

"You really think Broly is that smart?" Angel snorted mockingly. "That muscle-bound monkey couldn't tell left from right even if he had a compass. I think we should take what we can and get moving."

"I agree with Storm." Silver said suspiciously. "Broly isn't one to be underestimated. For all we know, this could be some kind of a trap."

"What do you think, mate?" Marine asked Sonic.

"_I don't know..._" Sonic thought difficultly. "_Silver and Storm do have a point – this is just way too easy. But if we don't get moving, Broly could kill Pan at any moment. What do you think?_"

"**I definitely agree with the mage and the guard.**" Dark Sonic answered shortly. "**But it's like you said, we don't have much time to waste. If there is any sign of danger, you will need to be on your guard.**"

The cobalt hedgehog seemed stunned – that was one of the few time they actually shared the same thought. All of a sudden, the Keyblade Master understood that the unification was slowly taking effect and that their hearts were becoming connected. Sonic's heart ached with sorrow and pity. Shaking his head swiftly, the cobalt hedgehog summoned the Paladin to his hand, informing the group of his decision. Though Silver and Storm seemed genuinely reluctant to do so, they stood close with the rest of the group as Sonic swung his Keyblade forward to the Keyhole. Very much like they time before this, a vibrant light formed around the teeth of the Paladin and released a steady beam into the depths of the Keyhole. A moment of silence passed – a loud rumble echoed throughout the catacombs. The Keyhole suddenly began to fracture the rock surface around it and faded away from the realm of existence, leaving column of eerie green light that reached towards the pinnacle of Hell.

"Come on, guys." Sonic said sternly. "We've got a cranky teenager to save."

By natural curiosity, Marine was the first to jump into the ghostly light, teleporting to another sector within the realm of the dead. Sonic quickly jumped in after her while Angel dragged the defiant Babylonians before entering herself.

* * *

The scene alternated to an unknown section within Hell's depths, making a surprising change in the surroundings. Instead of the usual dark catacombs and bloodstained walls, the chamber was filled with soft light and a cool mist that brushed against their feet. The only thing that truly revealed it was part of hell was the walls made from human bones and curved spikes overhead that looked to come from the ribcage of an extinct beast. The Sonic Team dropped into the mist-covered arena one-by-one, drawing their weapons in expectation for an enemy attack. It seems that their paranoia was correct. The group of five found Pan knocked unconscious and resting against the skeletal wall, but it was Broly himself that stood guard over the Saiyan female.

"Well, look who decided to join the party." Broly said tauntingly.

"It's over, Broly!" Sonic shouted bravely. "We're back to full strength and you're outnumber five-to-one!" He sudden regained his old swagger with an overconfident grin. "Then again, I don't really need help kicking your sorry tail across Hell and back. Remind me again which one of us ended up becoming the Dragon Cup Champion."

"**Well, looks like your ego hasn't been damaged.**" Dark Sonic said sarcastically.

"_You're just jealous because I'm the one that gets to have all the fun._" Sonic retorted jokingly.

"**That is.....so true.**" Dark Sonic whined.

Sonic tried to fight back the urge to laugh out loud – he was definitely going to miss their usual argument. But Broly, on the other hand, looked uninterested by Sonic's excessive proclamations and reached down to grab Pan by the scruff of her neck. The Sonic Team moved themselves to fight at a moment's nice, but Storm was thrown off his balance and fell on his back when Pan was thrown against his chest.

"You can have your little doll back." Broly said, speaking as if he had already won. "I've gotten everything I needed out of this little venture." He blinked slowly, stopping his gaze directly at the Keyblade Master. "You have been a very useful tool, but I no longer have any use for you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Silver questioned curiously.

"I'll tell you what it means, pipsqueak." The heroes jumped and turn, facing Eggman with an army of Soldiers. "It means you have been conned, duped, bamboozled like little puppets on strings!"

"Eggman!" Angel growled menacingly. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Dr. Eggman has shared some delightful information about the Keyblade." Broly informed leisurely. "And now that the blue rodent has done all the dirty work for us, we'll take care of the rest."

"Say goodbye, pests!" Eggman laughed. "Heartless squad, attack!!"

At the command of their human leader, the flocks of soldier Heartless raced to approach the Keyblade Master and his companions – the chamber filled with irritable clacking. Sonic was always ready to take out Heartless and wasted no time spinning forward in a circle, using the momentum of his Keyblade to increase his power. He successfully performed an uppercut on the closest soldier, sending the armored beast flying, and grabbed the hilt of his weapon tight to trust it downwards, crushing a second Soldier. But beyond the mist of darkness from the deceased Heartless, Sonic saw Broly and Eggman with their individual smug expressions before escaping via Corridors of Darkness.

"Hey, they're getting away!" Sonic yelled.

"We have bigger problems, Sonic!" Silver shouted back.

To his right, Silver had summoned a barrier around to protect himself and Pan and started attacking from a distance. The Babylonian mage empowered his dragon staff – the flaming-red eyes glowed menacingly – and stabbed the teeth into the arena floor. Spears of stone formed a line in the direction he was facing, but surrender expanded to a five foot radius when coming into a closer range of seven Soldiers. Angel was always a hands-on type of fighter and jumped over ten feet into the air, crossing her arms with her twin daggers in hand as she dived into the swarm. The pink experiment crossed slashed across the neckline of the closest Soldier and performed a temporary handstand when landing, kicking away three Heartless surrounding her. Storm once again favored a defensive style ands used his shield as a means of drawing in enemies and repelling them with his weapon. Once the Heartless were close enough and caught off guard, the bulking albatross would show his strength once more by crushing them with his fists alone. Marine's tactic was a bit...unusual to say the least. Instead of the Soldier flocking to devour the raccoon's heart, the Soldiers ran scared at the sight of Marine summoning a giant glowing flyswatter from her power orb.

Don't ask...

"Ugh! I must be out of shape!" Sonic grunted. He back himself against Silver's barrier at the same time he decapitating another Soldier. "Fighting Heartless didn't use to be this hard before!"

"We've been in slumber for nearly a year." Silver reasoned, sweating heavily from the amount of energy he was distributing. "And in the short time we've been awake, the only time we've ever faced this many Heartless was when we went to hunt down Beelzemon."

"And we had Angewomon's help with that." Storm said, being forced by the pressure on his shield.

"Is it just me...?" Angel wheezed; she and Marine were tossed on their back by the twirling Heartless. "Or do these guys keep multiplying every time we take them down?"

"Actually, I thin she right!" Sonic said nervously, knocking back another pair of Soldiers. "There's way too many to take on! We've got to get Pan out of here!"

"Anyone know a detour?" Marine asked hopefully.

"Let me pave the way!"

The Sonic Team cluttered together – Storm threw Pan over his shoulder – and expected another enemy to create greater problems. So imagine their relief when two Soldiers were lifted into the air by the helmets and crushed together with Uub delivering the critical blow. He smiled cheerfully to the heroes, but his exhaustion was still shown through by the sweat on his brow. The Heartless temporarily forgot their original targets and trotted after Uub. The dark-skinned warrior sighed in a tired manner, but still found the energy to raise his joined palms and called forth a series of blue/white arrows and skewed a great majority of the Soldiers.

"Unless you want to be Heartless bait, I suggest you get moving!" Uub cried, delivering a few quick jabs to the enemies. "Get back to the coliseum entrance and I'll hold these guys off!"

"Nuh-uh, not happening!" Sonic glowered defiantly. "We're not going to leave you dealing with this by yourself!"

"You better come with us, mate." Marine said insistently, grappling Uub by his wrist. "Even you have your limits, mate. You can't keep winning forever."

"But..."

"Either you come with us or we're staying." Angel said in a final tone, drawing her daggers sharply. "And bear in mind that Pan is still with us. The longer we stay here, the better chance she has of being critically injured....or worse."

In Sonic's opinion, that was a little below the belt, but Dark Sonic had concluded that it was better motivation to get the dark-skinned warrior to follow orders. Indeed, Uub saw that they only way he could keep the rugged teenager safe was by following the Sonic Team's commands. And they were right about one thing – he wasn't going to win this fight. Especially now that the Soldiers were still multiplying and were shortly joined by several Trick Ghosts and a pair of Large Bodies. Uub nodded to the animalistic warriors and dashed backwards to the entrance of the chamber, waiting only for Storm and Pan to pass him. Sonic and Silver stayed behind longer than the others to conjure a unified wall of fire to repel the Heartless long enough to escape. The moment the Heartless had stopped their charge at the flame wall, both hedgehogs took this chance to make their escape, blissfully unaware that Broly was watching the entire scene play out.

"I didn't think this day could get any better." Broly chuckled darkly. "This time, the heroes are going to get an unexpected welcome."

* * *

The scene alternates to the cavernous entrance that connected Hell to the land of the living. It was a long a perilous journey backwards from the catacombs, avoiding and ambushing various Heartless along the way, but the group was still safe. Even though the Sonic Team were safe from this realm's curse, their feelings of exhausting were purely from their stressed muscles and throbbing tendons. While most of the team was doubled over, wheezing and coughing deeply, Angel and Marine were the only ones that still and the energy to keep going.

"That was a ripper of an adventure!" Marine cheered cluelessly. "Let's go the other way and see if we can take that bug-dragon thingy!"

"NO!!" The men snapped.

"You midgets are hilarious." Sonic suddenly gained a second wind as Eggman stepped from behind the gateway, laughing heartily. "And my dear boy, Uub. How it must feel to know that you will always be a failure."

"No one likes a sore loser, Eggman." Silver scowled.

"You're in no position to talk, Silver." Eggman said smugly. "It just so happens that everything that went about was according to Broly's plan with some satisfactory effort on my part. Oh, I would say that Baby has succeeded in possession all those poor simpletons at the World Martial Arts Tournament by now."

"Baby?!" Uub gapped horrified. "Baby was at the tournament?"

"He was the last opponent you finished off." Eggman informed pleasingly. "Oh, that's right. You failed to kill him off and now that metallic parasite is wondering around free in the real world." He summoned the Corridors of Darkness from behind, steadily walking backwards with an elated expression. "I would love to stay and watch your downfall, but I have another little diversion to attend to."

"Eggman, get back here!" Angel demanded, but the round doctor had already escaped. "Grr...aki patooka."

"He sounded confident." Storm noted interestingly. "Is this Baby guy really that strong?"

The five animal heroes turned to Uub for some answers, but the dark-skinned warrior was staring at the floor – his eyes were wide with absolute terror. When he senses finally returned to him, the dark-skinned warrior turned on his heels and made a mad dash for the portal to the living world, ignoring his overwhelming exhaustion. Sonic and his friends were worried and knew that Uub was in no condition to fight. After making sure that Storm still had a grip on Pan, the Keyblade Master and the rest of his team chased after their friend, not expecting the dangers that awaited them.

* * *

Carnage and mayhem was too soft of words to describe Budokai's present state. From the moment the Uub and the Sonic Team exited the portal to Hell, they were greeted by the destruction created by Baby's wrath. The World Martial Arts stadium had been torn down, brick-by-brick, a good percentage of the city was set aflame, and the statues of the previous champions were demolished – except for Hercule, who had been remodeled to wearing a diaper and bib. The only relief was that all of the tournament spectators were safe and standing in neat rows in front of the ruins of the tournament stadium. Though Marine did comment how creepy it was that everyone was grinning insanely.

"Well, at least no one was hurt." Silver commented soothingly.

"No, this isn't right." Uub said with a defeated tone, dropping to his knees. "Baby possessed their bodies. He slipped into their blood stream and harvested his DNA into everyone to give him power over them."

"Can he do that?" Marine asked Silver.

"You bet your little ponytail I can!" Master Roshi approached the heroes, speaking in Baby's voice. "Now that I have taken control of the human filth on this planet, I will spread my power beyond the reaches of the galaxy! Worthless insects like the Heartless will stand no match against the power of the Tuffle Empire!!"

"Dude, you're nuts." Sonic commented, drawing the Paladin to his chest. "If you want to take over the universe, you'll have to get past the Dragon Cup Champion!"

"**We could have just snuck off peacefully.**" Dark Sonic complained. "**But no, you had to let your overinflated ego get the best of you. Oh, why couldn't I have been Espio's other personality.**"

"_What? You think I can't take him?_" Sonic asked disappointed.

"**In a word – NO!!**" Dark Sonic responded.

"Come on, Uub." Angel said, shaking the dark-skinned warrior by his shoulder. "We're going to need you brain if we're going to figure out how to beat this guy."

"What's the point?" Uub said in a hollow voice. "I let them down – I left everyone unprotected." He pounded his fist against the ground. "Eggman was right. I'm just a...a failure."

"Now is not the time to be beating yourself up." Silver said strictly. "We need you now."

"Some warrior I turned out to be." Uub murmured dreadfully. "Goku...I failed you."

The Tuffle Parasite was overjoyed by Uub's emotional breakdown as expressed by the echoing cackles of the possessed humans. Realizing that the dark-skinned warrior was no longer in a position to help them, Storm gently passed Pan at his side and joined the others as they formed a wall against the possessed inhabitants.

* * *

**Tuffle Parasite: Baby**

Facing off against average humans, the Sonic Team felt that they had the advantage and did not see the need to overexert their energy on the controlled people. But if there was one thing that had forgot about Budokai, it's that this world attracts all kinds of customs – many not from this word. Before Sonic realized that the battle had started, he was lifted off his feet and thrown backwards into Uub, who did nothing to avoid the flying hedgehog. The Keyblade Master rebounded off the dark-skinned warrior and flopped on his stomach – the Keyblade skidded only a few inches from his hand. As he tried to reach out for the weapon, he found himself suddenly hanging in the air by his left leg and the sound of cringing metal reached his ears. Sonic didn't have the slightest clue what was going on, but his warrior instincts told him to summon the Keyblade to his hand. With the additional weight of the Paladin, the invisible predator was thrown off its balance, enabling Sonic to attempt a vertical slash across the air. The Keyblade Master could feel his weapon making contact and flipped to land on his feet, watching as his attacker was forced to reveal himself. A foreign alien wearing rugged survival gear with a steel-plated mask with hanging dreadlock and a lengthy blade attached to his right wrist. However, because of Sonic's attack, the mask has been split in two, revealing the scaled face and four appendages around its mouth.

"Yeesh, and I thought Hirudegarn was the ugliest baddy." Sonic groaned inwardly; the predator hissed.

"**I think he heard you.**" Dark Sonic sniggered. "**Sure glad I'm not you.**"

"_I hate you._" Sonic scowled.

The Predator extended its blade to an unbelievable length – Sonic really wished he wasn't the Keyblade Master. Meanwhile, Silver was having similar, if not worse, problems than his apprentice. The Babylonian mage levitated himself backwards in the air and stopped at the tope of a high wall, smacking his staff to repel the jumpers. Silver's enemies of choice were a group of sightless black beasts with long, smooth heads, reptilian bodies, and bladed tails The Xenomorphs, which the hedgehog recognized from Nyrox's books, formed a small pyramid with their bodies and allowed two of their own jump at the hedgehog. Silver flipped forward into the air, rebounding off the head of the first Xenomorph, and thrusted the head of his staff into the second alien's mouth. Despite the fanged tongue biting at his weapon, Silver mumbled a quick spell and random spears of pure light ripped through its reptilian body. Its acid-green blood rained over its comrades – strong hissing sounds followed when the acidic blood touched any solid surface.

"That was actually kinda quick." Silver commented surprisingly.

"Hey, Silver, those things are Xenomorphs, right?" Storm asked, shoving away his own adversary.

"Yeah, why?" Silver nodded.

"Aren't they immune to their own acid?" Storm questioned.

Silver's eyes went wide as he mechanically turned back to the site of his supposedly defeated enemies. Much to the hedgehog's horror, the Xenomorphs merely brushed the acidic acid off their smooth skin and snarled menacingly at the Babylonian mage.

"Oh crap." Silver muttered.

In the meantime, Storm pushed his shield in front to successfully repel the flying shards of emerald-green crystal. The alien creature that chose to combat the mighty albatross was from a race that Storm recognized to be a Petrosapien. The crystallized titan scowled at the disadvantage presented by the Babylonian's shield and refrained from firing any more shards. Instead, the Petrosapien and remolded its arms into sharpened blades and dashed ahead for a closer encounter. Storm yelped at the sudden assault and ducked out of the way of the crystal blade, allowing him the perfect chance to slam his shield into the alien's back. The Petrosapien staggered momentarily, but steadied its footing and turned on its heels – its hands were once again fragmented to fire. Being captain of the guard, Storm had seen this tactics many times and knew the best way to counter it. The moment the crystallized alien had turned, the large albatross pulled back his shield and sent it flying directly into the alien's face. Storm recovered his shield from the air as it came back around and watched the Petrosapien flail across the ground.

"I can't believe so many aliens came to watch people beat each other up." Storm said interestingly.

"I can't believe one of my own cousins is here in the first place!" Angel screamed.

The Babylonian guard was drawn by curiosity as he looked over to his pink partner, only to be run over by two blurs of pink and yellow. Angel was running for dear life as a yellow version of Jumba's experiments was zipping down the streets like a lightning bolt, shooting occasional volts of electricity. The siren experiment starting dashing up the face of a nearby wall, using only her feet to cling to the surface, and back flipped over her electrical brethren. Angel found it to be no surprise that the electrical experiment stopped before colliding with the wall, but still thought to toss her dagger while still in midair. Unfortunately, with an annoying cackle from the experiment, the electrical monstrosity grabbed the daggers wit his lengthy antennas, pumping them to the brim with electrical energy. The yellow experiment tossed Angel's weapons back, but they only stabbed into the ground in front of her. Just as he had planned. Without warning, all the electricity swelled up in the weapons rippled from the blades and surged to the closest object: Angel. The pink experiment cried out from the sudden shock and fell backwards – the smell of burned fur filled her nostrils.

"Ooh...akibaba." Angel mumbled dizzily. "Who put the clouds on the roof?"

"Not so easy now, is it?" Baby spoke through the experiment. "Surrender yourself to the mighty Tuffle race and you can share our glory."

"As if..." Angel groaned weakly. "As if I want some worm swimming though my veins. It was bad enough when Poxy did it."

"Defiant until the end." Baby scowled. "Very well, you shall..."

"Coming through!!"

Whatever Baby was prepared to say next was not known as the electrical experiment was punted into the sky and disappeared over the horizon. The cause of this miraculous rescue came from towering twenty foot colossus with sickly green fur, a pair of horns on its head, and wearing stone armor at random places on its body. How could anyone possibly miss that? Marine certainly didn't as she was already climbing the colossus's right leg, using the large amounts of fur as an advantage. The only disadvantage found was that the titan's skin was so thick that Marine's energy orb could call a weapon powerful enough to pierce it. But the colossus was vaguely annoyed by the tiny pest and swiped its hulking arm around the area where the rascally raccoon was located. Because of her small stature, Marine could have easily dodged the swinging muscle, but instead chose to jump and cling to the fur on the titan's arm. When the colossus reached the full height of its swing, Marine released her hold on the beast and plopped on the titan's forehead, where she discovered a glowing symbol.

"Ooh, glowy." Marine said curiously.

"Get down from there." Baby snarled through the colossus. "I am going to crush your bones to dust and scattered them to the four winds."

"You know, you're not very nice." Marine said uninterestingly.

The Tuffle Parasite was quickly growing annoyed with her and started swing the colossus's head madly. Marine struggled to maintain her balance, ultimately failing and fall on her stomach. But her grip was unintentionally tightened around the energy orb and accidentally summoned a walloping war hammer that smashed the glowing symbol. Turns out, the symbol was the colossus's great weakness and the towering titan fell to the ground, creating a seismic aftershock that vibrated within a fifty mile radius. Everyone was left in a daze by Marine's surprising counterattack with the raccoon slowly dragging herself back to the battleground.

"That...was...AWESOME!!!" Marine screamed excitedly. "Let's do it again!"

However, someone saw fit to whack her in the back of the head and send her flying across the tournament entrance. Sonic was just recovering from the unexpected quake when his surrogate sister hit against his shoulder, causing him to scrape his skin against a sharp stone on the ground. Sonic hissed disdainfully as the crimson liquid breached his wound, which only added to the fact that his team was slowly beat one-by-one.

"As you can clearly see, you are no match for the Tuffle race." Baby said through Master Roshi, throwing Storm to the ground. "Not even the legendary Keyblade Master can stand up to our might."

"_I hate to say it, but he's right._" Sonic thought angrily. "_He's got us pinned twenty-to-one and we're running out of options._"

"**We can't afford to kill the hosts.**" Dark Sonic stated strongly. "**They may be out enemies now, but they are still innocent creatures....for the most part.**"

"_That's our problem._" Sonic replied thoughtfully. "_We can't do a thing as long as that damn parasite is..._"

The cobalt hedgehog trailed from his thoughts, suddenly struck with inspiration. A wide grin crossed his expression as he relayed his plan to his darker persona – Dark Sonic was pleased with the idea.

"Some great race." Sonic taunted openly; the Sonic Team looked aghast. "If you're so great, why don't you have me, the legendary Keyblade Master?"

"Sonic, what are you doing?" Silver hissed.

"Hmm..." Baby hummed. "You present an excellent point. Once I have the Keyblade Master under my influence, I will truly be the most powerful force in the universe!"

The Sonic Team cried out to warn Sonic, but the cobalt hedgehog only continued to grin with the air of victory. Through his influence over Master Roshi, Baby released himself from the turtle hermit as a steady stream of silver liquid. And before Silver or the others could react to this, the Tuffle Parasite leeched himself around Sonic's open wound and slipped into the hedgehog's bloodstream.

* * *

Deep within the depth of Sonic's subconscious mind, Baby materialized himself at his full appearance, investigating the vast power of his new host.

"Amazing..." Baby said wickedly. "I have never dreamed such power existed. Not even Vegeta at his full strength could compare to the vast quantities of energy stored within the rodent. And with him at my command, the Tuffle race will rise once more!!"

"You talk too much."

The Tuffle Parasite sudden felt himself frozen in fear as he felt cold steel touch both sides of his neck. Due to his own lack of knowledge towards the Keyblade Master's heart, Baby found himself at the mercy of two shadowy figure wielding Keyblades close to his only lifeline. Dark Sonic retained his grip on the Oblivion Keyblade in his palm while sending curious glances to the other inhabitant within the cobalt hedgehog. His face was obscured by the Black Coat he wore, similar to the one worn by the Order, but kept his grip firm on the Oathkeeper Keyblade.

"So, we finally meet." Dark Sonic said deeply, ignoring the intruder's twitching. "Sonic and I have been wondering who else would be stored within this vessel. Tell me, why do you dress as one of the Order?"

"Answer this first?" The Order member questioned. "Why are either of use allowed to exist. We were never born to be part of this world, yet we still strive to become someone. Why?"

"I can understand what you mean." Dark Sonic nodded. "Being a Heartless, a creature made purely from the darkness of Sonic's heart, I should not be alive while Sonic continues to exist." He and the Order member lowered their Keyblades, much to Baby's relief. "But, maybe because Sonic wants us to exist."

"He wants us to exist?" The Order member repeated.

"Maybe because, somewhere deep in his heart, Sonic urges us to exist." Dark Sonic said thoughtfully. "We might not exist in the outside world, but to Sonic, we are still living creatures that hold close bonds to his heart. To that end, he is willing to go out of his way and risk everything to save us, even if destiny does not wish us to exist."

"Bonds..." The Order member hummed, staring at his hands. "Maybe...Nobodies can exist."

"Not for much longer!" Baby roared.

While the two shadows were distracted by their conversation, Baby had thrown out his hands and gathered the energy needed to blast the shadows to oblivion. But their reactions were much better than the parasite's. Both Keyblade wielders twirled their weapons to chop off Baby's hands before he could release the energy and crossed their blades along his neckline, decapitating the parasite before he realized it. And in the outside world, Baby's influence was destroyed and everyone was set free from the Tuffle's control. And as their conscious minds began to separate once more, Dark Sonic and the Order member shared one last stare before everything went blank.

"Thank you..." The Order member whispered.

**Baby: Defeated**

* * *

Though the Babylonian mage still scolded Sonic for his reckless behavior, the Sonic Team still congratulated him for his impossible victory over Baby. Such an unorthodox tactic could not have been pulled off by anyone but him. With the Tuffle Parasite's influence no longer controlling them, everyone that had been possessed woke up without any recollection that had transpired. But if there was one good thing that had come out of all this, the stadium was closed and allowed Uub time to rest and relax. Speaking of whom, the dark-skinned warrior was sitting on the broken remains of a stone bench with Pan, who had conveniently recovered, murmuring words of reassurance to him.

"Uub, it's not your fault." Pan said sadly.

"Yes it is." Uub sighed. "I let everyone down. I'm just...no use."

"Hey, everyone has a bad day once in a while, mate." Marine said in a supporting manner. "The best thing you can do is have the courage to stand up and face it."

"Amazingly enough, she's right." Silver said surprising; Marine shot a victory sign. "You just need to get your strength back and then you can take care of Broly."

"At least he won't be attacking any time soon." Storm said positively. "With the tournament out of commission, he doesn't have a reason to fight you."

"Aw, we shouldn't worry about that big bully." Pan huffed. "If he tries anything, I kick his butt all the way back to Hell."

"You should really learn your limits." Angel said superiorly. "Leave the big stuff to the real warriors."

"When did you guys become warriors?" Pan said smugly.

"Let's save that for another time." Sonic said sheepishly. "We've got to hit the road."

The young warriors tried to wave a cheery goodbye to the Sonic Team, but Uub failed and showed no expression but self doubt and pity. It was a sorry sight. But just before Sonic could dwell on this matter any further, he felt a strange sensation radiation within his pocket and reached into it. He soon recovered the stone that formerly belonged to Fortuneteller Baba, which was giving off a familiar radiance and drifted lightly in the air. Holding his Keyblade in front of him, Sonic's mind wandered into another dimension, where only the stone's light shined. The gifted stone emitted a beam of light into the sky and formed into the shape of a keyhole. Sonic thrusted his chosen weapon forward and unleashed the Keyblade power to strike at the Keyhole, unlocking the next gateway. The Keyblade Master's mind was sharply thrusted back into reality.

"What was that?" Uub asked weakly.

"That means a new path has been open." Sonic answered. "We better get going."

"Then take this with you." Pan said gratefully, surrendering a Keychain that looked exactly as Sonic remembered the Dragon Balls. "Don't be strange, you hear."

* * *

Meanwhile, another event was taking place in the chaotic world of Hollow Bastion, closer towards the Villains Vail. While the Restoration Committee worked to rid their world of the Heartless, Black Doom was using their powers and harvesting they to multiply his armies. It seemed like the committee was fighting a losing battle. At the pinnacle of the central tower, Black Doom hovered loftily close to the edge of the balcony, overlooking his growing army from above. But still, he needed more than just Eggman if he was going to conquer this world once more.

"Where are the others?" Black Doom questioned immediately after Eggman appeared through the Corridors of Darkness.

"How should I know." Eggman shrugged. "My guess is that they had better things to do."

"You mean they had more affairs to attend to than my return?!" Black Doom glowered spitefully.

"Well, there has been this nasty problem with a group called Order XIII." Eggman informed. "Rumor has it that..."

"You think I care for this wasted husks?" Black Doom interrupted. "Let those fools play their little game."

"But what about that runt with the Keyblade?" Eggman questioned seriously. "He's becoming a real pain in the derriere."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." Black Doom said coldly. "Sonic always had a knack for becoming a nuisance. But..." He slowly drifted at turned to the round scientist. "Things have changed since I've been away. It would be better you tell me what's happened during my absence."

* * *

**A hollow victory with a tragic defeat. Will Uub regain his confidence to face Broly? Will Sonic learn the secrets to his other half? And what plans does Black Doom have left up his sleeve? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	27. Babylon Garden

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Twenty-Six: Babylon Garden

The scenery opens to a world just beyond the boundaries of Hollow Bastion – a world strengthened by a powerful light. This land was constructed with a lengthy stone castle in the heart of the world, several looped and extravagant racetracks, and a variety of plant life to give the world its name. The home of King Jet and his followers – Babylon Garden. The sun shined as bright as it always did as the guards continued their regular patrol around the castle. But in a world so filled with light, it was very unlikely that the Heartless would even dare to make an appearance. Although it never hurts to be safe. In the extensive library of the castle, the current leader of the Babylonian was scrambling shelf from shelf, searching for something important.

Queen Wave was a violet-purple swallow with three long head-feathers tied backwards into a ponytail and a white flame on both of her wrists. She wore a pair of the finest Arabian silk pants, a pair of pure-white sandals, a white top with a black crescent moon in the back, and a red opal necklace around her neckline. The...er, 'benevolent' queen was grabbing every book she could get her hands on, only to throw it over her shoulders a moment later.

"Where the hell is that manual?!" Wave shrieked. "If I found out that Charmy has been using it as a coloring book again, I am going to throttle him!!"

"Your majesty!"

Speak of the devil – Vector and Charmy charged in from the hallway, throwing the doors outwards to smack the guards standing on either side. Not even taking the moment to apologize for barging in, the Extreme Gear technicians skidded to a halt in front of the swallow, panting hard like they had run a marathon. Vector was bending over, holding his knees, trying to catch his breathe and explain his actions. Charmy wasn't given the chance to speak mostly because Wave's hands were wrapped around his throat at the moment.

"All right, you little bug!" Wave hissed angrily. "When is the manual for the auto thrusters?! I know you have it!

"Losing....consciousness." Charmy gasped.

"Your majesty, we can worry about that later." Vector said hoarsely. "Something is wrong in the Treasure Room. We went down to look and saw black tentacles everywhere."

"The Treasure Room?" Wave repeated shockingly; she released the bumbling bee. "Show me immediately."

The Gear Technicians nodded and saluted to their queen, waving for her to follow them. It wasn't long before they arrived in a secret chamber known to the Babylonians, accompanied by ten guards carrying staffs and shields. It was such a horrible sight – the guard didn't even dare to move closer. Wave was the only member of the search party brave enough to take a step forward and collect a full view of the situation. Needless to say, she was horrified. Fear was evident in her expression for the first time as she closed her hands together in a type of prayer.

"Oh, Jet, I wish you could hear me." Wave murmured. "Babylon Garden is in danger. We need to do something soon." Just then, she remembered their other protectors wandering the world. "Silver...Storm...Please hurry back.

* * *

The scene alternates to the Corridors of Space between worlds as the Keyblade Master and his team departed from Budokai in sullen spirits. It was a mixture of failure and victory. They succeeded in saving Budokai from Broly's goons, but Uub was no longer in any shape to continue fighting. It makes Sonic wonder if it was a victory at all.

"_By the way, what happened with Baby?_" Sonic thought suddenly. "_Someone as strong as you, I would have thought you would've gotten rid of him sooner._"

"**I was prepared to do so until I met someone.**" Dark Sonic explained. "**I couldn't see his face, but he was wearing the Black Coat worn by Order XIII.**"

"_You think the Order infected my heart?_" Sonic asked worried.

"**I don't think that is the case.**" Dark Sonic responded thoughtfully. "**Whoever it was has been in your heart for a long time – long before I awoke in Master Nyrox's tower. If he had intended to do you any harm, he would have done it by now.**"

"_I guess you have a point._" Sonic nodded.

"So where to now, mates?" Marine asked, jarring Sonic out of his thoughts.

"Well, I don't see any new worlds on the navigator." Angel said; Silver was stunned to discover that his precious device was swiped without notice. "Maybe we should head back to Hollow Bastion and ask around to see if the Order has been messing around with anything."

"Well, it's better than nothing." Sonic shrugged. "Whaddya think Storm?" No response. "Storm? Master? You guys ok?"

Quite the contrary, both Babylonians looked as if they were going to be sick. Silver was bending low to the face of his board with his eyes screwed in some unknown pain while clutched the fur on his chest. For a moment, Sonic believed he was dying, but was relieved when the mystical hedgehog regained his composure. Storm, on the other hand, seemed to show no signs of the pain that Silver felt, but the Keyblade Master did notice that he was unusually pale. Without even taking a moment to talk, both warriors turned the direction of their Gears and darted off before the rest of the team could blink. There was a pregnant pause of awkward silence shared amongst the remaining members.

"What was that all about?" Marine questioned confused.

* * *

**---Babylon Garden---**

Silver and Storm were surprisingly lead back to their former home, where they were carefully followed behind by Sonic, Angel, and Marine. The resident warriors chose to land in the garden in front of Babylon Castle and set their Extreme Gears aside to investigate their surroundings. When Sonic looked around, he was deeply impressed by what he saw. A field of random flowers parted in many ways, forming a decorative version of the Babylonian seal: a genies lamp with three tomoe circling the base. The hedges were cut at precise angles to form leafy statues of, what Sonic guessed, were past heroes and rulers of the world. The reason behind his guess was due to the enlarged replica of King Jet standing in the heart of the garden, posed into a position of battle wielding a pair of fans.

"So this is your world, eh?" Angel said interestingly. "Must be nice to be home, huh?" When looking back to the Babylonians, they seemed to be in a panicked state, snapping their focus back and forth between the castle and the garden. "Hey, are you guys ok?"

"Ya know, something just doesn't feel right." Storm commented worriedly.

"I just can't help but feel that something is missing." Silver added.

"Vector!" A young voice called. "Vector, look! They're back!"

The Sonic Team looked to their left as the doorway to the castle opened, revealing the Extreme Gear technicians with jubilant smiles on their faces. Sonic started waving to the duo, finally glad to meet them in person, when he noticed something unusual about the pair. Whenever he had seen them on the navigator, they appeared young and healthy. But when seen from a close perspective, Vector seemed to be in his early thirties and Charmy was in his late teens – both characters were unusually pale. The Keyblade Master had a hard time believing they were the Extreme Gear technicians he had been communicating for over a year. They had just talked to each other the other day and they were nowhere near this old.

"Charmy, Vector, what happened?!" Silver shouted urgently. "Is it....?"

"No time for talking now." Vector said in hushed tone. "Babylon Garden is in great danger. We've got to sneak back into the castle library and find the queen."

"Sneak?" Sonic repeated confused. "Why do we have to sneak back into the castle?"

"Why don't you try asking them?!" Charmy screamed fearfully, pointing to the area behind them.

Though still very much confused, the five members of the Sonic Team turned around and stepped back to receive the shock of their life. Heartless. Heartless on Babylon Garden. A great majority of the dark monsters was a flock of Shadow Heartless accompanied by a new strain of Heartless. They were relatively small in comparison to their partners with miniscule bodies underneath the black, round heads. What seemed odd in Silver's opinion was the thread of rope jutting from the top of its head just above the Heartless Emblem. For reasons that would be explained later, these creatures were known as Minute Bombs. At once, the heroes summoned their various weapons – Storm took a lot longer for some odd reason.

"What are Heartless doing here?" Sonic questioned suspiciously. "I thought you said that Babylon Garden had too much light for the Heartless to invade."

"It does." Storm replied, panting softly. "Or at least, it used to."

"What happened, mate?" Marine asked curiously.

"We'll figure it out later!" Angel snapped, twirling the daggers in her claws.

It was only when the Heartless began their march did the Sonic Team realize the sheer number of enemy shadows that had invaded the castle grounds. There must have been close to five thousand Shadows and three thousand Minute Bombs. But at this point, the main priority was to make sure that the darkness didn't reach the castle walls. Because he needed maneuverability on his side, Sonic switched out the Paladin for the Kingdom Keychain before jumping overhead into the army ranks. Before touching the ground, the cobalt hedgehog twisted the Keyblade at a length around his body, cutting down ten Shadows that circled him. One of the Minute Bombs broke away from the rest of its comrades and head-butted the Wielder of Twilight in his right hip, causing him to stagger sideways. Out of retaliation, Sonic recalled some of his old teachings and thrusted his Keyblade forward to summon a ball of flame from the teeth. He regretted the decision almost immediately. The moment the fireball came in contact with the Minute Bomb, the Heartless exploded and eradicated everything within ten feet of it, including fifty Shadows. Sonic was fortunate to be on the edge of the blast and was only thrown backwards by the aftershock.

"It explodes?!" Sonic exclaimed shockingly. "Why didn't anyone tell me it could explode?!"

"**Gee, I wonder why a bomb-shaped Heartless would explode.**" Dark Sonic responded sarcastically. "**Let's take a moment to think about this.**"

"_You know, sarcasm can be very hurtful._" Sonic whined.

"**I definitely won't miss that.**" Dark Sonic rolled his eyes.

The reminder of their future union only made things worse. Meanwhile, Marine and Angel had worked together to form an unusual tag team, which was against their normal standards. The pink experiment dropped from the air and stabbed two Shadows in the forehead, lifted them into the air, and threw them back at the rest of the army. As the dark soldiers scuttled backwards, four Minute Bombs lit their fuses and skipped forward to the front lines. After witnessing Sonic set off one of the kamikaze creatures, the Sonic Team learned that it was better to keep at a distance. And so Angel lowered herself to all-fours and allowed Marine to leapfrog over her why activating the raccoon's mystical power orb. Marine used her special weapon to create four emerald-green force fields around the Minute Bombs, encasing them in her trap until imploding. At the moment the bomb Heartless failed to succeed, a flock of Shadow marched rapidly while the raccoon was still freefalling. However, Angel curled herself into a ball and held her daggers outwards as she bounded for the group like a bowling ball. The miniscule Heartless lowered their heads in defeat before being blown away into oblivion.

"Strike!!" Marine cheered, retrieving a pair of pom-poms from absolutely nowhere. "That's the way to show those baddie, mate!"

"We shouldn't be celebrating just yet." Angel proclaimed seriously as she uncurled. "What I'd like to know is – where's you get the nachos."

"These?" Marine asked, pointing to the tray of cheesy nachos she was holding. "The nice bloke over there gave them to me."

"Who in the...?" Angel said strangely, only then noticing the Shadow Heartless handing Marine a soda. "I'll never understand that girl."

The pink experiment ducked as the Shadow head-butted her. At the same time, Silver and Storm were forced back-to-back while trying to defend Charmy and Vector. Silver was finding it easier to hold off the newcomer Minute Bombs by freezing the with ice magic, allowing him the chance to shatter them with his staff. But his main concern was not for his own safety, but for Storm. The large albatross was not fighting as aggressive as he normally did against the Heartless and his movements were unbearably slower than usual. At this point of the battle, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Storm to breathe and every attempt to strike at the Shadow regularly ending with him missing. So in one careless move to hit the nearest Shadow with a haymaker, Storm missed by at least a foot and tipped on his feet, causing him to fall forward on his face. The Shadow Heartless used the albatross's weakness to his advantage and stripped Storm of his shield as they flocked around him. Silver forced himself to look away from the small group he chained with lightning magic to discover his friend being devoured by the darkness. With a quick swipe of his staff, the Babylonian mage summoned a lengthy blade of light and swiped it over the pile, eliminating only the Heartless.

"Storm, are you all right?" Silver asked concerned.

"Ugh...I don't feel so good." Storm groaned.

As the large albatross lifted himself up, Silver stepped back and cringed. Storm's appearance was severely altered – his feathers were more withered and grey, his chest feathers were a dull silver color, and his overall age appeared to be close to his early forties. Storm fruitless tried to push himself back up and only ended with him falling back onto the ground. Vector and Charmy, who seemed to be aging right before Silver's eyes, grabbed each of his arms and lifted him onto their shoulders.

"It's only getting worse." Charmy said; his voice was much deeper.

"If we don't get to Queen Wave soon, who knows what will happen." Vector stated.

"I know, I know." Silver groaned heatedly. "But what are we going to do about the Heartless."

"This isn't getting any easier!" Sonic shouted. He and the girls was before forced back as the Heartless started appearing in groves, making it more difficult to eliminate them. "We can't hold them off like this. I'm gonna need to use the Drive Form if we want to stand a chance!"

"Storm is in no position to help." Silver stated, taking his place at his student's side. "Fusing him would only make you weaker instead of stronger."

"What about the summoning necklace Shahra gave you?" Angel suggested.

"Yeah....about that." Sonic chuckled sheepishly. "I kinda forgot to get it back from Vegeta while we were in Budokai." Silver and the girls glared at their leader just moments before slapping him over the head. "Ow!! It's not like I did it on purpose!"

"Now what do we do, mates?" Marine asked worried.

"Man, you guys really are hopeless!" A new voice called.

The Keyblade Master and friend turned their focus away from the growing armies and looked to the skies. Much to their amazement, a shower of black fireballs rained over the garden, but only fell directly over the Heartless. One-by-one, the Shadows were eliminated from the face of the world and the constant explosions form the Minute Bombs only helped in their efforts. A continuous chain of fire and darkness washed over the flower beds until a thick mist made it almost impossible to see within three feet of your face. And when the darkness finally faded away, only four Shadow Heartless were left in a daze.

"Whoa!" Marine screamed amazingly.

"It ain't over yet, kiddies!"

Almost immediately following, a flash of purple and black glided through the air and lashed at the first of the Shadows, obliterating it instantaneously. The unknown figure twirled around to destroy the two Heartless on either side and finished by stabbed its weapon through the head of the last Shadow. With the Heartless temporarily defeated, Sonic wanted to let out a breathe of sweet relief, but resisted when eying their proud savior. The warrior was a female chameleon with violet-purple scales and lavender hair that reached down to her shoulders. She wore grey pants with black tiger-stripes, black boots with grey straps, a katana strapped to her back, and white gloves with hidden compartments. She also had a metallic headband around her neck with a deep cut across the metal. Despite the fact that she was female, she looked almost exactly like...

"Espio?" Sonic murmured softly.

"Tomo!!" The Babylonians cheered with praise

"Tomo?" Angel repeated confused. "What's a Tomo?"

"It's my name, loser." Tomo said grudgedly; she exchanged glares with the pink experiment. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one of the group."

"What are you doing here, Tomo?" Vector questioned surprisingly. "I thought you left over a year ago to look for King Jet and your brother."

"I found them a while back, but we lost track of each other." Tomo sighed exasperatedly.

"Anyone gonna fill me in?" Sonic asked cluelessly.

"You remember that it was ten years ago when Mephiles tampered with the darkness and created the Heartless, right?" Silver began explaining; Sonic nodded his head. "Then you may also remember that it was the Heartless going around world, trying to take their hearts."

"To create Kingdom Hearts, right?" Marine asked.

"Exactly." Silver replied. "As Sonic would know very well, very few people are able to escape the world when the Keyhole has been opened. Tomo was one of the lucky few. And while people like Sonic ended up in the former Traverse Town, King Jet found her lying on the race track during the annual Grand Prix."

"I still have the skid marks to prove it." Tomo commented, rubbing her backside tenderly. "But that's beside the point. Someone tipped me off that the Heartless were attacking Babylon Garden and I couldn't very well leave it alone, being a Keyblade Master and all."

"You're a Keyblade Ma..."

The cobalt hedgehog stopped himself almost immediately when realizing that the dark-scaled kunoichi was holding the fabled weapon in her left hand. The sight of the Keyblade brought back many unpleasant memories. The legendary sword had a pitch-black body, a red curved hand guard around the handle, and the teeth were shaped like the broken outline of a heart. Sonic's hand twitched anxiously while eyeing the Darkblade – the very Keyblade Mephiles used against Sonic. Angel and Marine weren't present during the battle to know how dangerous it was, but they could never forget the sacrifice made to free Amy's heart. The rascally raccoon whimpered and slid behind her surrogate brother, who placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"What are you doing with that monstrosity?" Angel snarled loathingly.

"Hah! You're one to talk!" Tomo laughed.

"That Keyblade is evil." Marine said shakily. "Only people with lotsa darkness can use it."

"So I use the darkness; big deal!" Tomo groaned, rolling her eyes. "I thought you would have learned by now that not all darkness is evil – just the people who use it for evil purposes." He eyes wandered and made contact with Sonic's. "And you have as much darkness as you do light. So don't be a hypocrite."

"**She has a point, you know.**" Dark Sonic commented.

"_That doesn't mean I have to trust her._" Sonic replied severely; his eyes never left the Darkblade. "_Mephiles used that Keyblade to hurt a lot of people. As long as she uses it, I'll always consider her a threat._"

"Um...I think we should get back to the castle." Silver said nervously. It was painfully obvious that he was attempting to change the subject to prevent a fight from breaking out. "We don't have a lot of energy to go on in case the Heartless come back. And don't we have to meet Queen Wave in the library?"

"Yeah right." Sonic said distracted.

"Lead the way." Tomo gestured.

Silver shook his head at the immaturity shared between the pair of Keyblade wielders and concluded that neither one was willing to cooperate. Sonic and his team, grudgedly followed by the dark chameleon, padded carefully across the garden in any case that the Shadow returned and safely made it through the doorway. The group was now walking down an unusually long hallways carpeted in red velvet with portraits of the many battles the previous kings took part in. One of the portraits at the start of the hall showed King Jet in a rocky terrain with Kingdom Heart shining with a luminous-blue glow. Has Jet seen the heart of all worlds before? The thought continued to rattle across his brain without an successive conclusion. They walked past a large stone door with the Babylon Garden symbol stamped into the face, which the cobalt hedgehog suspected was the entrance to the throne room. At last, Vector and Charmy, who were still carrying the exhausted Storm, stopped at the end of the hallway and stood aside for the heroes to enter.

"The queen should be waiting inside." Charmy informed. "We've had the room secured so that the Heartless wouldn't get in."

"Where are the guards?" Tomo asked curiously, looking down the hallway. "I thought there would be at least a little more protection for the queen if we were being invaded."

"The guards wanted to stay at first." Vector answered. "But Queen Wave thought they're priorities would be better suited to protecting the people in town. The queen argued until they finally followed orders."

"Then who was left guarding the queen?" Silver asked worried.

"Well...."

The Keyblade Master didn't have the patience to wait for an answer and barged his way inside – Angel released an audible groan. From the moment he stepped inside, Sonic was faintly reminded of the library from his birth home, Hollow Bastion, and could compare them by the rows of books they had collected. But since Babylon Garden was one of few worlds that realized the existence of other worlds, it didn't come as much of a surprise to find a book for any subject in the universe. The cobalt hedgehog walked to the nearest shelf and saw a book that interested him – _Land of Departure: A Warrior's Beginning. _For some reason, the Land of Departure seemed to stir something in his heart and he reached for the novel. But just as he came close to touching the bindings, a glove hand snapped out of nowhere and clasped around his wrist.

"What the?" Sonic said shockingly.

"Who are you?!" The new character questioned strictly.

The Keyblade Master turned to his left, suppressing the urge to summon his chosen weapon, and stared back at a pair of fiery-golden eyes that showed no kindness. He found himself captured by a lavender cat with a jagged tail, her hair tied upwards by a ruby-red ring, and a brilliant-red gem stamped into her forehead. Her outfit consisted of deep-purple suit with yellow lines across the chest, elbows, and knees, a pair of plain-white gloves with ragged cuffs, and a pair of scarlet/white running boots. As they glanced up and down each other, Sonic could easily confirm her identity from the description her head. And judging by the way her expression softened and her grip was release, she experienced the same revelation.

"And blue hedgehog..." The feline murmured softly. "Sweeping quills...flexible build...stupid expression..."

"Hey!" Sonic snapped, feeling insulted.

"**You do have that same stupid look on your face.**" Dark Sonic laughed loudly.

"_No commentary from the peanut gallery!_" Sonic shouted heatedly.

"Tell me, are you the Keyblade Master?" Blaze asked with hope apparent in her voice.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, Keyblade Master of Twilight." Sonic said, politely shaking her hand. "And you must be Blaze. Silver never stops talking about you..." And checks her features over again. "And I can't really blame him."

"Um...thank you." Blaze replied; her cheeks flushed.

"**Smooth.**" Dark Sonic nodded.

"Hey, Sonic." The hedgehog and feline jumped; they had forgotten about their entourage. "You're not trying to steal my girl, are you?"

"As if he has any chance." Blaze chuckled lightly. Though she claimed she didn't admire him, Sonic noticed that she was trying her hardest not to look at him as she walked past and hugged her boyfriend. "You don't know how much I missed you, Silver. Things just haven't been the same around here."

"Obviously." Silver nodded. "Where's the queen?"

"Right here!" A harsh voice broke the reunion. "It's about damn time you got here!"

Almost immediately, the residents of Babylon Garden, Tomo included, jumped into line and saluted while Sonic, Angel, and Marine watched amusingly. The queen of the world could be heard walked around the nearest shelf, but she wasn't anything that the Keyblade Master was expected. Instead of a youthful beauty that was suited for the king, he found himself staring at an aged swallow that seem to be nearing her early fifties. Was this really the woman King Jet had chosen to marry? But when thinking it over, Sonic began to notice a sudden pattern about the Babylonians and was frightened to realize that everyone was much older than they looked ten minutes ago. Vector and Storm seemed to be much older than Wave and Charmy looked to be in his mid-forties. But why weren't Tomo, Blaze, or Silver infected by this unknown disease?

"Sorry for the delay, your majesty." Storm said weakly. "But the important thing is, we're back."

"You highness, was it you that summoned our hearts?" Silver asked sternly.

"Yes, it was." Wave nodded.

"So that's really the queen?" Sonic said thoughtlessly. "Man, she's old."

All the men presently occupying the room stared at the cobalt hedgehog with absolute horror and swiftly bounded over the desk to their right. It was too late before Sonic realized his mistake before all five females curled their hands into fists and punched the Keyblade Master in the face, sending him flying to the shelves. The blue warrior flopped to the ground as a wave of books collapsed over him and he was forced to dig himself out with a painful lump on his forehead.

"**You can't say you didn't deserve that.**" Dark Sonic noted.

"_Why do women have to be so sensitive about their age?_" Sonic whined. Thankfully enough, his attention was drawn away from the pain as his eyes peered over a colorful page that was ripped from the books. Only after retrieving it did he realize what the object was. "_It's a page from Sonic-Chao's book. At least all this trouble was worth something._"

"You'll have to forgive him, your majesty." Silver said nervously as the male reappeared. "My student isn't very good with authority figures."

"So you're the legendary Keyblade Master." Wave said thoughtfully, looking over the whimpering hedgehog. "Well, I guess you do look the part. King Jet says you have some raw talent with that sword."

"So, do you know where the king is?" Angel asked.

"I'm afraid I don't." Wave answered sadly. "He's been sending me letters all year, but he didn't disclose his location in case someone intercepted them. I really wish I knew where he was so that we could deal with the Heartless threat."

"Speaking of the Heartless, how are they here in the first place, mate?" Marine asked interestingly. "I thought this world had too much light to let those baddies in. That's what Silver always said."

"The real problem is part of the reason why they are here." Wave proclaimed strictly, looking back to the heroes. "Sonic, there's something you need to know about Babylon Garden and its secrets. We wish that you would join us in the Treasure Room."

"The Treasure Room?!" Tomo exclaimed. "No fair! You never let me in there before!"

"We're going to need all the help we can get at the moment." Blaze said sharply. "Your majesty, we need to move to the Treasure Room at once."

The aging swallow nodded her head swiftly and gestured for them to proceed out into the main hallway. It was growing more apparent that the Babylonians were growing weaker every second as Queen Wave was being carried by Blaze while Silver, Tomo and Angel assisted the other three cursed Babylonians. Sonic was growing worried that his friends were getting older every time he looked at them and was concerned of what might happen to them if they didn't make it in time. With Blaze leading the pack, the group stopped at the entrance to the throne room and waited as the feline swiped a single finger against the stone. A loud clang echoed in the castle and the gates opened inwardly with an ominous creak. The throne room they had enter was abnormally long and contained virtually nothing but a single golden throne and a red carpet reaching the doorway.

"Man, this is huge!" Sonic exclaimed loudly; his voice echoed. "You could hold all of Hollow Bastion in here!"

"The Treasure Room is beneath the floor." Tomo stated as they stopped near the floor. "I've been trying to get in for ages, but never really figured out how. I've tried everything from drills to nuclear bombs – there's no way through."

Then how are we supposed to get inside?" Marine asked.

The queen of Babylon Garden remained mute as she waved her hand over the seat of the throne, amazingly summoning a hologram keyboard in midair. The group respectfully looked away – Tomo was blinded by Silver – and waited as Wave typed in the correct password for the secret chamber. All of a sudden, two lines of brilliant-golden light formed on either side of the red carpet and the heroes gapped as the floor lowered itself into a stairway to the room below.

"This way to the Treasure Room, if you please." Blaze said politely.

Tomo, carrying Charmy over her shoulder, was the first to eagerly jump in and disappear beyond the stairway. The rest of the group went much slower mostly because the Babylonians were growing much old and becoming extremely fragile. It took a couple of minutes to make sure that the older members weren't uncomfortable before reaching to the bottom step. Once again, Sonic was granted an unusual surprise as he stared around the secret chamber. Instead of a fabulous and luxurious room filled to the brim with gold and diamonds, he discovered only a nightmare brought to life. Black tentacles pierced the wall and floor while distributing red light between them, acting almost as veins carrying blood. And harvested in the center of the room, a single podium carrying a single crystallized box glimmered dimly in the heart of the chamber.

"See that in the center?" Blaze asked Sonic, gesturing to the crystal box. "That is Babylon Garden's most cherished treasure: The Star of Light. It was always kept here for safe keeping...until now." Her eyes wandered around the room, grunting disgustedly at the veins. "These tentacles have stolen the light from our treasure, sucking it dry."

"What's so important about a box?" Sonic asked.

"That's not just any box, Sonic." Wave explained tiredly. "The Star of Light is the main source of power for Babylonians. Not only does it fill our world with light, but it's also the reason for our extended life." She smirked quirkily at his confused gesture. "You may not realize it, but we Babylonians can live for up to 10,000 years. I am 562 myself."

"Over five-hundred years?!" Sonic yelled shockingly; the girls gasped. "But if the Star of Light is what keeps you young, why hasn't Silver or Blaze been affected by it."

"Blaze and I aren't originally from Babylon." Silver answered simply. "We came from other worlds and found ourselves here."

"And as long the tentacles continue to absorb the light, Babylon Garden will grow weaker." Wave said wheezing; she coughed violently. "It won't be long until on our world dies."

"But who would do such an evil thing?" Tomo questioned.

"Look no further..."

Out of the darkness, the essence of evil itself floated proudly over the Star of Light – his three eyes gleamed in satisfaction. The Sonic Heroes were taken back by his sudden appearance, but even more so to know that Black Doom had somehow returned from the land of the dead.

"Black Doom!" Angel growled. "Why can't you just stay dead?!"

"A pleasure as always, abomination." Black Doom said tauntingly, giving a mock bow. "It is an honor to be in your presence once more, O noble Keyblade Master." His third eye glanced to Wave with such amusement. "Oh, and the queen has graced my appearance as well. But if you don't mind me saying, you have really let yourself go."

"What do you want, Black Doom?" Blaze hissed in a controlled manner; they were in no position to fight. "Why are you attacking the castle?"

"I am simply here on a property venture." Black Doom said casually. "I am in need of a castle of my own and Eggman was courteous enough to remind me that you have one available. However, it is a bit too 'bright' for what I have in mind." He attempted to touch the Star of Light, only to find himself being forced back. "I suppose I'll just have to fill every room with my personal touch of darkness."

"You better stop right now if you know what's good for you!" Sonic sneered, summoning the Kingdom Key to his hand.

"Ooh, how frightening." Black said mockingly. "Very well. I'll stop...just as soon as this castle belongs to me!"

"No!"

The Keyblade Master couldn't resist it any longer. Despite the warnings garnered from his friends, Sonic charged ahead and swiped his chosen weapon of Twilight across the Dark Overlord's torso. However, his victory was dampened considerably as Black Doom faded in a wisp of smoke – it was an illusion.

"Bastard." Sonic muttered.

"Nothing like this has every happened before." Blaze said in a defeated tone. "I looked through all the records, but I couldn't find a single clue on how to defeat this kind of thing."

"Then the only way we're gonna stop this is by finding something you can't learn in a book." Marine said thoughtfully.

A short period of silence swept over the heroes as they put their heads together into this matter. Black Doom has somehow tampered with an impenetrable light that could not be discovered by the usual means. Angel suggested looking for Master Nyrox until Vector confirmed that his tower was nowhere on the navigator map. Metal and the restoration group had their own problems in Hollow Bastion and probably didn't know where to begin. If only they knew someone as wise as Nyrox and could be found in a convenient location. That's when it hit him. While the rest of his team struggled to find the answer, Sonic sudden jumped past and made his way to the stairs.

"Everyone, wait here." Sonic said with a smile on his face. "I'll be back in a minute.

* * *

**---One hour later---**

The Sonic Team and Babylonians were struggling to keep hope for their world as they minutes seemed to drag on. Queen Wave and her followers were rapidly aging into their late seventies and their bodies were becoming wrinkled and withered. Tomo had taken it upon herself to pace back and forth in the center of the room while the heroes contended with their weakening friends.

"Where the hell is he?!" Tomo suddenly screeched. "He said he would be back in a minute!"

"He'll be here, mate." Marine said certainly as she helped Charmy with a bottle of water. "You've just gotta trust him."

"He's been gone for over an hour." Tomo grumbled. "If he isn't here within the next five minutes..."

At the precise moment, an explosion of smoke emerged at the entrance to the secret chamber, causing the dark chameleon to jump and fall on his back. Blaze and the Sonic Team jumped at the sudden action, but relaxed instantly when the smoke died down. Sonic had returned in his usual flashy manner, surprisingly wearing a straw hat and eating a bowl of noodles with Shahra the Ring Genie and Merlina the Sorceress on either side of him.

"Sonic, you're back!" Blaze shouted gleefully.

"Where were you?" Angel asked impatiently.

"I went to pick up Shahra and Merlina decided to give us a free ride over." Sonic said; his cheeks stuffed with noodles. "But as usual, she screwed up the spell and we ended up in a place called the Valley of Peace." He took a moment to swallow. "Did you know they make the best noodles in all the worlds?"

"Forget about the noodles!" Tomo yelled, knocking the bowl out of the hedgehog's hands "If you haven't noticed, we've got lives to save!"

"Hmm..." Shahra hummed. "Interesting..."

"What is it, Master Shahra?" Merlina asked.

"This is much worse than what Sonic described." Shahra explained seriously. "There's only one way to fix this." Stepping back a few paces, the ring genie snapped her fingers to the air, summoning a marble-white door with an unusual pattern. "That should do it."

"What's that for?" Marine asked.

"This is a special gateway to a very special world." Shahra explained. "Someone in that world is responsible for what's happening on Babylon Garden and you need to stop it."

"I knew I could count on you, Shahra!" Sonic shouted with praise as he turned to his team. "You guys stay here and keep the queen and the others safe. I'm going to stop who or what it causing this."

"Oh no, you're not hogging the glory." Tomo said defiantly. "I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not."

"And I'm coming, too." Blaze said urgently; the group of heroes looked stunned. "All of you have been risking your lives to protect other worlds, now it's my turn to protect my world."

"Before you go, there is something you should know." Shahra said warningly. "You need to stop the villains responsible for this, of course. But there is something else to do first." She eyes drifted to the gateway. "Somewhere in that world, there should be another door similar to this one. I believe our enemies are utilizing that door to break into the castle."

"So it's our job to lock it." Sonic said simply.

"You can count on us." Tomo said smugly.

"I'll make sure they don't screw anything up." Blaze nodded.

"Oh, and one more thing." Shahra spoke with urgency. "You are heading into a very special world. While you're there, the nature of that world may tempt you to do something dark. You must resist that temptation at all cost!"

"What do you mean?" Blaze questioned.

"You'll know soon enough." Shahra answered grimly.

There something in her tone of voice that led Sonic to believe that she didn't hold much faith in the team. The cobalt hedgehog knew he could ward off any temptation and Blaze seemed to be a by-the-book character like Silver, only more strict. The only thing that really worried them was Tomo. She was a wild card – unpredictable and less likely to be relied upon. Just by simply glancing at each other, the hedgehog and feline made a silent agreement to keep a closer eye on the dark user. Taking on last look at his friends and the weakened Babylonians, Sonic settled his nerves and grabbed the door handles, slowly pulling them outwards.

"Here goes nothing."

* * *

**A new world within a world! Will Sonic and his unlikely team be able to protect the Star of Light? Will Black Doom succeed in obtaining his new castle? And will Sonic and Tomo learn to work together to save the lives of others? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

Notice

Attention readers! I am in dire need of your assistance! Because of the new characters to the group, I need to come up with Retro versions for Blaze and Tomo. I am offering free spoilers to the people who can come up with the best Retro Version for each other them.

Thank you for your cooperation.


	28. The OldFashioned Way, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

**Note: All character appearances are taken from original genesis format. Just to make sure no one gets confused.**

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Old-Fashioned Way, Part 1

From the falling kingdom of Babylon Garden, our sights are set to a new land beyond the Realm of Light. The new environment was a long, grassy plain that stretched for miles covered with patches of colorful flowerbeds and lifelong tree that reached to the skies. The sunny-blue sky was cleared of any obstructions and strange formations of shuttle loops seen off in the distance. But our attention is driven to one of the higher hills in the zone, where the fabled Star of Light rested peacefully on its podium, free from any dangers. So while everyone in the grassy-green zone went about their usual business, they failed to notice that a porcelain-white door landed in the middle of the field and was shaking violently. The doorway snapped open with a deafening snap and Sonic, Blaze, and Tomo exploded from the passageway. The three newcomers flopped to the ground with dazed and hurt gestures on their expressions, drawing attention from the passing creatures around them. But they seemed to brush this incident off rather quickly – this must have been a regular occurrence.

"Ugh...someone get the license on that doorway." Sonic moaned.

"At least it was worth it." Blaze commented as she brushed herself. "We already found the Star of Light."

Ignoring the grumbling coming from the third member of their party, the cobalt hedgehog flipped over to his hands and knees and faced the crystallized box. It was definitely much brighter than the one they had seen in Babylon Garden – Dark Sonic requested painfully to look away. Sonic had to admit that the light was too bright even for him and hoped to distract himself by staring at his shoes. It was then he noticed the obvious change the world took on him like it did on many other worlds before this. The Keyblade Master was a foot smaller than normal with his arms and legs being much skinnier than normal, but his body and head becoming more round. The spines on his back were less pronounced, his six quills were reduced to three, and his attire went back to their classic appearance: White gloves and red/white running shoes.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Sonic questioned surprisingly. "And why do I have the urge to eat a truckload of chili dogs?"

Looking back to his new comrade for answers, it came as no surprise that the new world had changed them as well. Blaze's new appearance resembled closely to the cats seen in the old black and white cartoons Uncle Chuck showed him once. The lavender cat's ears were more pointed and pronounced, her bend tail was straightened, and her body and head was more round like Sonic's, but still thin in comparison. Her outfit was made of a violet coat with a golden collar, white form-fitting trousers, white gloves with fur-lined cuffs, and a pair of magenta /white high-heeled shoes with fur-lined collars.

And if Tomo didn't look more like a tomboy before, she did now. Like her unwilling partners, her head and body was more round than normal, but now had three points in the back of her head, which was barely covered by the violet hair. Tomo legs and arms were thin much like Sonic's and her curled tail was nothing more than a short stub at this point, leaving her with the exposed green spikes running down her spine. He outfit was pretty much the same, all though they didn't benefit her appearance any better. Sonic resisted the urge to laugh openly.

"**Normally, I would say it is a bad idea to laugh at women.**" Dark Sonic cackled humorously. "**But I'm not even sure she's a woman any more.**"

"Ok, why do we all look like freaks looking for the circus." Tomo asked, disgusted by her new appearance.

"I don't know..." Blaze murmured, looking herself over. "But something about this seems kind of...familiar."

"Really?" Sonic said surprisingly. "Have you been here before?"

The lavender cat started shaking her head at first until her attention was detoured to something on Sonic's left. The cobalt hedgehog looked for himself, not really believing what he was seeing. Dr. Eggman was seen running across the hillside, obviously changed by the power of this new world as well. The comical scientist was always large, but now his new body explained why he was called "Egg"-man. His bushy mustache was greatly tames and less impressive, his bulbous nose was alarming-red, and arms, his arms and legs seemed much too small for his own body. The upper portion of his clothing was comprised of a large red shirt with an orange scarf around the neck and a pair of white gloves. The lower portion was simply a pair of black pants that reached to his feet and two buttons around the waist. The newly cartooned scientist skidded to a halt when spotting the trio and approached them as fast and his thin legs could carry him – the team stood ready to pounce.

"Hey you!" Eggman said forcefully. "Have you seen any bad guys around here?" The heroic trio glanced at one another cluelessly and simultaneously pointed to the doctor, who seemed flabbergasted. "Oh, you think you are so funny! Why I oughta......Bah! I don't have time to waste on punks like you!"

Sonic's brow rose with a mixture of curiosity and exasperation as the round doctor turned tail and marched down the hillside.

"Well, there's our villain." Sonic shrugged.

"That was kinda easy." Tomo commented.

Perhaps a little too easy in Blaze's opinion. Being Silver's girlfriend, she was natural as cautious and calculative as the Babylon Mage and felt that something wasn't right about this scenario. She had only met Eggman when she was four years-old and this man didn't seem to recognize any of them. Did Eggman have a twin brother? But before the lavender cat could voice her opinion, the two Keyblade Masters she was charged with had already disappeared down the hillside after the round scientist. Blaze managed to catch up to them a short while later as they found Eggman standing on the edge of a crystal-blue lake, which surprisingly had a miniature planet floating overhead. The round scientist seemed to be looking for something. What he was looking for, Sonic didn't bother to find out as he walked up to his well-known opponent.

"Caught ya red-handed." Sonic said victoriously. "Just come along quietly and I promise not to grind ya to dust."

"**You couldn't do that before.**" Dark Sonic remarked.

"_Hello! I'm trying to intimidate the villain here!_" Sonic snapped heatedly.

"What's with you squirts?" Eggman questioned angrily. "You got some kind of bone to pick with me?"

"More than one, Eggy." Tomo mocked.

"Don't call me that!" Eggman yelled furiously, raising his fists. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get! En garde!"

Both Keyblade Master scoffed at the round scientist's feeble uptake on the situation and summoned the Kingdom Key and Darkblade respectively. Blaze seemed rather reluctant to join in, but still stood side-by-side with her comrades, never leaving her eyes away from Eggman. At least, who they thought was Eggman.

* * *

**Babylonian Scientist: Dr. Eggman?**

The round scientist was now beyond furious that the trio of animals would dare draw weapons against an unarmed man. Who did they think they were dealing with? Dr. Eggman bounced ahead with his fist still raised in front, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. The Babylonian Scientist stopped a just few feet from the Keyblade Team; still bouncing on his heels, and started jabbing his fists at the air. Eggman must have thought they would be intimidated, but the trio found it amusing and somewhat disturbing.

"You think you can take this?" Eggman said mockingly. "You think you can take the greatest mind in the world? I will warn you that have had years of experience in fisticuffs and I will not...."

The cobalt hedgehog rolled his eyes at the embarrassing at Eggman's monologue of his own superiority. So while the round scientist continued yammering on, Sonic jumped off the ground and slammed the Kingdom Key over the top of his bald head. The Babylonian scientist was frozen in place from the shock and fell backwards, twitching impulsively.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Blaze commented strangely.

**Dr. Eggman: Defeated**

* * *

"Ugh..." Eggman groaned as he forced himself to sit up. "What do you punk have against me anyway?" All of a sudden, the round doctor cocked his head and looked between the trio. "Speaking of which, who are you? I haven't seen any of you around before."

"Cut the act, loser." Sonic demanded.

Eggman opened his mouth with a retort, but it seemed to be caught in his throat. Instead, the Babylonian Scientist redirected his attention to something else that the other heroes couldn't see. Eggman turned and attempted to stand with hopes of following the anomaly until a loud crack filled the air. It seems that age had finally caught up with the mustached doctor as he fell forward on his face, rubbing his sore back.

"You know..." Blaze said aloud. "Something's really bugging me here. Are you sure you're Dr. Eggman?"

"I hate it when people call me that!" Eggman shouted, sitting up once again. "For the last time, my name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik, chief scientist and engineer to King Accel. So if you would be so kind as to LEAVE ME ALONE!" He held his head as if to protect it from an imminent migraine. "I really need to find the jerk that stole my precious Egg-Mobile."

"That can't be right." Blaze whispered to the group. "King Accel has been dead over eight years after he chocked on a chicken bone at dinner."

"Crappy way to die." Tomo commented.

"Whatever it is, I'm starting to think we picked the wrong guy." Sonic stated worried. "He could have called the Heartless anytime to help, but I don't see any around for miles."

"Well, Ivo Robotnik is Eggman's original name." Tomo informed thoughtfully. "But there can't be two Eggmans, can there?"

"**After everything we've seen, that wouldn't surprise me in the least.**" Dark Sonic shrugged; Sonic unconsciously nodded.

"Please forgive us of our brash actions, Dr. Robotnik." Blaze apologized respectfully, helping the poor scientist to his feet. "We were looking for someone that looked just like you and we kind of got the wrong idea." She bowed politely, pulling Sonic and Tomo into the same position. "Is there anything we can do to make up for this?"

"Well, you could help me find the rapscallion that stole my Egg-Mobile." Dr. Robotnik said, sniffing lightly. "That beautiful piece of machinery is my pride and joy. If anything happens to it..."

"Sounds like a fair deal." Sonic nodded affirmatively. "Let's get down to hunting!"

Blaze agreed wholeheartedly with the cobalt hedgehog,but Tomo pouted and refused to perform anymore grunt work. But her opinion didn't really matter to the other two members of the party. So with the Kunochi Chameleon kicking and screaming behind them, the Keyblade Team made their way back to the hilltop.

* * *

****Green Hill Zone****

Sonic and his new partners were drawing much more attention than they needed with Tomo being dragged behind them, but the heroes persevered it. The new team stopped near the Star of Light, but stayed at a distance where it didn't hurt Sonic's eyes to look at its everlasting brilliance. The cobalt hedgehog wondered why the light was so painful to look at, but Dark Sonic reminded him that they were quickly becoming one person. The prospect was still saddening, but his thoughts of the aging Babylonians in their world brought him back to his senses.

"I thought for sure Eggm – I mean, Dr. Robotnik was the bad guy." Sonic whined.

"**That would have been too easy.**" Dark Sonic proclaimed. "**And you know things are never that easy.**"

"Well, even if Dr. Robotnik isn't the villain, we still have to find his machine." Blaze said firmly.

"Well, we did promise him we would..." Sonic said slowly.

"Screw the fatass!" Tomo shouted rudely; passing creatures stared disgustedly. "We've gotta find the door first!"

"But we made a promise!" Blaze glared sternly. "We can't break our commitment!"

"So you'd rather let her royal highness turn to a pile of dust?" Tomo sneered.

Sonic had the intense feeling that a fight was about to break out between the girls and desperately looked for something to distract them with. Thankfully enough, something unusual popped out of the air in a cloud of light-blue smoke. The object looked like a large mirror with sterling silver acting around the glass – intersecting dragons formed the frames.

"**It looks like Master Nyrox is watching after all.**" Dark Sonic said impressively.

"Hey, guys, what's that?" Sonic called.

When the Keyblade Master had called them, Tomo had already summoned her Darkblade and Blaze had formed miniature fireballs in her claws – now he knew where she got her name. Though somewhat reluctant, both females set aside their grudge and weapons as they joined the hedgehog near the mirror. Sonic snatched the floating objected from the air and stared at his reflection, wondering why Nyrox would bother sending this to them.

"What is it?" Blaze asked curiously.

"It definitely looks like a mirror." Sonic stated. "But if Master Nyrox sent it, it must be important."

"Yeah right." Tomo scoffed in disbelief. "As if that hunk of junk is going to..."

But before the Kunochi Chameleon could bring herself to finish, the reflective glass stole the image of the trio and exploded in a wave of light, blinding them of their surroundings.

* * *

_---Flashback---_

At the Hilltop of Green Hill Zone, four different sets of Heartless were standing in attention to four enlarged golden rings floating in midair before them. All four groups seemed to be waiting for something to happen and their patience was rewards as colorful portals appeared within the giant rings. There destination was set at the Heartless vanished through the golden rings for whatever dark purpose they hold. But just as they departed, a porcelain-white door landed in the middle of the field and was shaking violently. The doorway snapped open with a deafening snap and Sonic, Blaze, and Tomo exploded from the passageway. The three newcomers flopped to the ground with dazed and hurt gestures on their expressions, drawing attention from the passing creatures around them. But they seemed to brush this incident off rather quickly – this must have been a regular occurrence.

"Ugh...someone get the license on that doorway." Sonic moaned.

"At least it was worth it." Blaze commented as she brushed herself. "We already found the Star of Light."

"Whoa, what's going on?" Sonic questioned surprisingly at his new form. "And why do I have the urge to eat a truckload of chili dogs?"

"Ok, why do we all look like freaks looking for the circus." Tomo asked, disgusted by her new appearance.

"I don't know..." Blaze murmured, looking herself over. "But something about this seems kind of...familiar."

"Really?" Sonic said surprisingly. "Have you been here before?"

_---End Flashback---_

* * *

The light finally died and the newly formed team found themselves back in their original place except the mirror had evaporated into a cluster of lights. The group blinked their eyes to regain their focus and glanced curiously to one another before turning on their heels simultaneously. Certainly enough, the four golden rings they had seen in the mirror were floating across the hilltop. How could they have possibly missed them?

"What was that?" Sonic asked, referring to the mirror.

Heartless goin' out..." Tomo began.

"And us coming in." Blaze finished.

"But what does it mean?" Sonic questioned confused.

"**There's no way to check now.**" Dark Sonic said at the exact moment a fleck of light crossed their eyes. "**But it's plainly obvious that Master Nyrox wanted us to get rid of the Heartless before anything else.**"

"_But how did he know where we were in the first place?_" Sonic wondered.

"**This is the guy who taught Shahra everything she knows.**" Dark Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Well, if we're going to figure out anything..." Blaze said, snapping the hedgehog out of his stupor. "We're going to need to take out the Heartless first. Their presence is a great danger to the world."

"Finally! Some action!" Tomo cheered.

"So which one first?" Sonic asked.

Sonic and her new partners suddenly spending over twenty minutes arguing and debating over which destination they would take first. For the most part, it was Tomo generally criticizing either one of them. But when it came down to it, Sonic and Blaze both agreed that it would be more beneficial to start from the first ring of the left and work their way through the rest of the areas. Tomo obviously argued with the duo, bluntly stating that it would have been better to work separately, but she was smart enough to know that she couldn't defeat them together. Blaze wouldn't be too hard, but Tomo remembered the battle against Duskmon in Castle Oblivion. Once the group came to an agreement, they vanished through the ring leading to their first trial.

* * *

The location shifts to a mechanized part of the new world that looked to be under a great deal of construction. Steel pipes and girders were being lifted to their ideal locations, walls of reformed iron and marble were propped in every direction, and piles of stone and rocks were scatted throughout the area. The Keyblade Team had just arrived in a closed in area of the construction site, watched with peaked interested at the hundreds of machines moving flawlessly to build....whatever it was.

"Whaddya think they're building?" Sonic asked, staring over the edge of the platform.

"Whatever it is, it's going to be big." Tomo whistled impressively.

"There's something about this place." Blaze murmured to herself. "It's on the tip on my tongue, but I know I heard about – Sonic, watch out!"

The cobalt hedgehog snapped his head in attention at the feline's cry, but was unable to avoid being smacked around by an incoming Heartless. Sonic was thrown backwards over the edge of the platform, but Tomo's quick hands captured the Keyblade Master by his ankle and pulled him back. Shaking his head free from the daze, Sonic stood close to his partners and summoned the Kingdom Key at the moment the attacking Heartless made itself know. The beast looked moreover like an oversized red hammer with arms and legs with the Heartless Emblem pressed on the black head of its frame. For obvious reasons, Sonic would remember to add it to Silvers journal as the Hammer Frame.

"Ya see?" Tomo boasted, summoning the Darkblade. "I told you this world was full of freaks."

"At least it's only one." Blaze stated confidently. Just then, nine more Hammer Frames dropped down onto the platform. "Why does the universe love proving me wrong?"

"You get used to it." Sonic said nonchalantly.

The leading Heartless of the group stared momentarily at the Keyblade wielding hero until it vaulted over twenty feet in the air – an impressive feat considering its weight. The tool-like Heartless gripped itself in the air and locked its arms and legs together, dropping back to the platform with its hammer face forward. The cobalt hedgehog closed his grip on the Kingdom Key, but found it to be fruitless when the flying hammer was kicked aside by a blur of green flashing across the air. The heroes blinked amazingly, but obediently followed the unneeded rescuer as he landed on the girder six levels above them. He was a green bird with two curled feather and a golden-yellow beak wearing a bright-red scarf around his neck and red/white shoes similar to Sonic's. The emerald avian winked at the group, mostly to the girls, and gave them an arrogant thumbs-up.

"Enjoy the save!" The bird yelled. "Because that's the last one you're getting'!"

"Is that King Jet?" Blaze asked surprisingly.

"Does he seem different to you?" Tomo hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe it's that now cowlick on his head."

"Uh...guys." Sonic said nervously. "I think we have a bigger issue."

Though the astonishment of the king's sudden rescue did not wear off completely, the female members of the group had reconciled themselves long enough to bring themselves back to their main priority. The loss of one Hammer Frame did not deter the fact that it was 9 to 3 – favor falling with the Keyblade Team. The Heartless Squadron broke themselves into three group of three for each member of the team, who dived right in towards their respective parties. Sonic dashed across the platform and quickly lowered himself to slid beneath the leading Hammer Frame's feet, which had used its body to crush the single space of the platform. Once safely passing the danger, the cobalt hedgehog kicked back to his feet and thrusted the Kingdom Key behind his back, successfully stabbing the Heartless through the chest. The remaining two members of the Heartless group charged from opposite directions of the hedgehog. With a grin of satisfaction, the Keyblade Master pushed himself off the ground and jumped over the Hammer Frames as they collided with one another. Sonic laughed mockingly at the dazed Heartless before twirling the Keyblade in his right hand to snuff out both Hammer Frames before landing.

"This has actually been a disappointing day." Sonic said displeased. "I was kinda hoping some big boss Heartless would pop out at the end of the level."

"**You think we're in some kind of video Game?**" Dark Sonic snorted.

"........." Sonic remained silent.

"**Are we?**" Dark Sonic asked uncertainly.

Ok, moving on. Tomo was less lenient than Sonic and much more compulsive than the Keyblade Master of Twilight. When the closer Hammer Frame made an attempt to smash the chameleon with its head, Tomo grappled the base of the tool-like Heartless and directed it into a circuit-based wall. The kunoichi Chameleon smirked proudly as the Hammer Frame was incinerated by over ten thousand jolts of electricity; she found the whole prospect amusing. A second Hammer Frame attempted to sneak up behind the warrior, but the killer chameleon crouched lower and spun backwards with the Darkblade. The tool-like Heartless was separated from its lower half, leaving it a mere hammer head. Tomo snatched the severed hammer and spun around to gain momentum before strike the remaining Hammer Frame with the head, causing the Heartless to cripple the metal behind it. And with a mischievous smirk on her face, the Kunoichi Chameleon tossed the hammer head to its comrade, whom captured the object in its arms. That was its last action before Tomo stabbed both of them with her Darkblade.

"Buncha softies." Tomo insulted.

This left Blaze alone with her remaining trio, but the lavender cat did nothing to attack of defend herself as the Heartless hammers swarmed. The surrounding Hammer Frames seemed to worried that Blaze was making this fight too easy for them. But being the instinctive creatures they were, they Heartless hammers quickly brushed it off and performed a simultaneous strike from all sides. It was at the moment when the Heartless closed in that the lavender cat finally made he move. Given her control over fire, Blaze transferred the flames to her feet for two reasons. The first was to use the force of the roaring flames to send her skyward and direct her to safety. The second reason was for the backlash of the explosion created a ripple effect that burned the Hammer Frame that circled her. All the Heartless hammers were set aflame and began running wildly in circles – one of them unknowingly walked off the edge of the platform. As Blaze came closer to the ground, she ignited her claw once more and slashed across the head of the Hammer Frame beneath her, evaporating it to the darkness. And then there was one. The pyrokinetic feline flipped backwards into the air and twirl around while release the power of her flames, forming an incinerating tornado. He path was already set towards the remaining Hammer Frame, who was too distracted by the fire covering it, and was left to perish before it could realize what had occurred.

"This battle is over." Blaze said solemnly.

"Wow, Blaze..." Sonic said awestruck. "Just....wow."

"Ok, roll your tongue back, blue boy." Tomo rolled her eyes.

Sonic and Blaze were flushed by the comment, but reminded themselves that they were still faithful to others: Amy and Silver. Of all the people they had to bring, the cobalt hedgehog wondered why Tomo had to be picked as the third member. Just then, their attention was diverted to a cloud of light-blue smoke that popped out of the air, relieving another mirror like the one from earlier. They could only guess that Master Nyrox was trying to leave them clues and dutifully took the relic. All three members stared unblinkingly into the glass surface as light covered the surroundings.

* * *

_---Flashback---_

"You absolute idiot!" Black Doom scolded with his back turned to the trio. "You've managed to fail at every task I have assigned to you!" He loftily turned to the group; his eyes with malice and hatred. "And what's more...you foolishly thought you could take my place while I was away."

Though it was against their own will, the group was forced to look away from the alien overlord. It was because of this they were able to gain a better view of the new area. It appeared to be a very small chamber of a castle where the walls were formed from pure darkness and gears moved slow and diligently for their specific function. But when looking back to Black Doom, they nearly jumped when they found the three-eyes warlord floating just a foot from them.

"We'll, as of now, you're finished!" Black Doom snarled. "Mark my words; there will be no place for you when our time comes!" He turned with a swish of his cloak and disappeared around the corner. But not before leaving with one final remark. "Useless imbecile..."

_---End Flashback---_

* * *

"Um...what was that?" Sonic questioned after returning to the construction site.

"No surprise that Black Doom is involved." Tomo said, scratching her chin. "But he looked seriously pissed at something."

"None of this really makes any sense." Blaze said, rubbing her forehead.

"Maybe we gotta clear a few more Heartless before figuring anything out." Sonic suggested. "C'mon. We've still got three more places to check."

Sonic was making his way to the golden ring that lead back to the Green Hill Zone and Tomo was actually following without complaint. Blaze was starting to mimic their actions until a sign post to the far left caught her eyes. Being a cat, curiosity was her natural enemy and couldn't resist investigating the matter further. She brushed aside the soot and metal that covered the sign, but suddenly jumped back when she could find legible writing. Her soft-golden were wide with a mixture of shock and horror.

"But...that can't be right..." Blaze gasped silently.

"Yo, what's the hold up, kitty?" Tomo shouted impatiently.

The pyrokinetic cat was suddenly thrusted back to reality – her team was waiting for her. Sonic noticed that Blaze seemed a little shaken up after rejoining the Keyblade warriors, but she refused to answer any questions. The cobalt hedgehog found it slightly suspicious, but didn't really dwell on the subject. There were still Heartless to be found. Sonic and Tomo jumped through the ring back to the Green Hill Zone, but Blaze lingered only a moment longer. She forced herself to believe that it was an illusion as she jumped after her teammates, but something her heart that this impossibility was true. She couldn't help wondering what world Shahra had sent them as she repeated those improbable words.

_Construction Site for Babylon Garden_

* * *

**A new world with a mystery beyond reasoning. What new territory have Sonic and his new comrades arrived in? Is Dr. Robotnik truly who he says he is? And what secret connection does Green Hill Zone have with Babylon Garden? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	29. The OldFashioned Way, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Old-Fashioned Way, Part 2

The scenery opens to a small island hidden somewhere in a vast, crystal-blue ocean. The solitary piece of land was moreover seen as a tropical paradise covered in a mass of forest greenery, a couple of snow-peaked mountains, and a pile of boulders shaped in the similar manner of a tortoise. Inhabiting the lush land were flocks of multicolored birds chirping to one another in perfect harmony – not a care in the world. Everything was perfect. Everything save for the fact that the island was barely big enough to hold a small group of people. A fact the Keyblade Team clued in on when falling through the ring portal. Tomo fell face first into the dirt, Blaze used her claws to scratch at the ground – she hissed evilly at the water – but Sonic was the only unfortunate soul to drop into the ocean. At the point of contact, Sonic began flailing his arms and splashing wildly.

"Help! Help, I can't swim!" Sonic cried shrilly. "This is the end! Good bye, cruel world!"

"Sonic, stand up." Blaze insisted dryly.

The cobalt hedgehog stopped swing his arms and stared up at the two females staring down at him. It was when Sonic finally regained his senses that he realized the most embarrassing fact that he was drowning in an ocean that was only six inches deep. The Keyblade Master felt his face burn up with humiliation as he very slowly pushed himself to stand in the ankle-deep water, nervously chuckling to his partners. Sonic hadn't felt this embarrassed since Rector scared him at camp-out to the secondary island using his shadow and a flashlight – the cobalt hedgehog repaid him with a plastic spider.

"Yeah...I knew that." Sonic said with an exaggerated grin.

"No, you didn't." Tomo smirked.

"**Oh, Higher Power, you are stupid.**" Dark Sonic moaned. "**How is it that live on an island your whole life, learned to manipulate water magic, visited Mahri Nui and you still don't know how to swim.**"

"_You're the smart one._" Sonic retorted. "_You figured it out._"

"**There are some places in your mind I'd rather not see.**" Dark Sonic proclaimed, shivering from the thought.

"Ok, only three questions come to mind." Tomo said exasperatedly as she walked around the miniature island. "One, where the hell are we? Two, why is this place so freaking small? And three," She started waving her hands at the air, scattering the bird away. "What is up with these damn birds?"

"I've heard of these creatures, but never thought I'd see one." Blaze said with amazement, holding out a gentle hand to let a miniscule blue bird rest in her palm. As she gently caressed the bird's soft feathers with two fingers, she never took notice of the cobalt hedgehog staring at her intently. "History books call these birds Flickys and believed to be the ancient ancestors to the Babylonians before they were able to adapt and evolve. No one has seen a Flicky in over five hundred years."

"So where'd they come from?" Sonic asked.

Both females looked at each other and shrugged to the Keyblade Master, who hung his head with a great sigh. Just then, a series of repetitive splashes reached the team's range of hearing and drew their attention out into the ocean. Just like before, Jet the Hawk, also changed by the effects of the world, was racing across the water for dear life, looking over his shoulder to the pursuers. A swarm of grey-skinned Heartless wearing blue helmets and yellow scarves were flying miniature navy-blue airplanes with the Heartless emblem on the side of the chassis. The scene looked to be something out of an old war movie Sonic had seen at Howl's home as the Aeroplane Heartless were firing miniature bullets at the king's heels, forcing him to pick up the pace. Sonic and Tomo had summoned their respective Keyblades while Blaze relinquished her hold of the Flicky to summon the flames to her hands. The warrior trio stood ready for battle as King Jet finally made it to the island.

"Hey, Jet!" Sonic said eagerly. "We're ready to..."

"Get out of my way!" Jet screamed as he dived headlong into the portal ring.

"Yeah, that really helps." Tomo said sarcastically.

"Looks like we're on our own." Blaze said seriously.

The Aeroplanes stopped at a distance from Flicky Island, hovering loftily to meet their stares. The aerodynamic Heartless curved their small squadron, which was at least twelve soldiers, and began circling the minuscule paradise. The Flickys were uncommon to these creatures and quickly dived into the trees to seek shelter. As the brigade continued to circle the heroes, three of them stopped in midair and positioned their turrets to take careful aim of the trio. With a sixth sense that only Keyblade Master's could possess, Tomo and Sonic raised their respective weapons to reflect the bullets back to their originators. Unfortunately, Blaze was not gifted with senses or a weapon and could not defend herself and was left open for two bullets to pierce her right shoulder. Sonic barely looked over before Blaze fell back onto the miniature mountains – anger was over him like a wave of fire. The cobalt hedgehog skipped off the ground for a short moment, waving his Keyblade in a vertical motion when landing again. The upwards motion summoned a claw of solidified liquid from the surrounding that captured not only the attack Aero Plane, but two others that were unfortunate to be there. With a spiteful expression, Sonic twisted the Kingdom Key in his hand and stabbed at the ground, commanding to claw to crush the flying trio into the depths. With the momentary danger passed, Sonic took two steps and kneels at to Blaze, who was ripping out the bullets with her claws.

"Are you all right?" Sonic asked concerned.

"Just a flesh wound." Blaze stated firmly, wincing as she pulled the second projectile. "I can handle myself."

"As long as you're not hurt." Sonic said, holding her had to help her up. "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you."

Blaze was used to the kind of concern Silver displayed on a daily basis, but there was something about Sonic that made her feel...warm. The same heat seemed to have reached to her face when realizing that the Keyblade Master was still holding her hand, but she didn't want to release. Silver...For some reason, her thoughts of the Babylonian mystic seemed to have been blocked out when she stared deeply into Sonic eternal-jade eyes. She felt safe, secure.

"Hey, love bird!" The duo snapped out of their trance and focused on Tomo, who had cut down another Aeroplane with her Darkblade. "If you two can put your eyes back in your head, you might wanna help out!"

Sonic finally regained consciousness of his hand and released Blaze's grip – the pyro cat suddenly felt cold. But Blaze set aside this enigmatic emotion and reignited the flames of her claws before charging forward to the chameleon's aid. Tomo had already cut down the left wing of another Aeroplane, watching the Heartless crash into the ocean, and barely noticed the second wave making a charge. Lucky enough, Blaze skipped clear overhead of the Keyblade Kunoichi, covering herself in a dome of fire as the Aeroplanes struck hard. The group was burned to ashes before the even reached the feline inside. Blaze dissolved the flames around her as she landed, crouching low to the tiny island shore. The pyrokinetic cat craned her head up to the four remaining Aeroplanes floating diligently around the island. Blaze stared back at her dark comrade and watched Tomo stab her Keyblade to the clouds, summoning a dark vortex similar to the light Sonic used to open the gateways. The teeth of the Darkblade inherited an aura more belligerent than its normal form and released the power into the form of a well-known spell called Dark Firaga. Unlike the standard Firaga, the darker version was sapient and followed the movements of the Aeroplanes. The Flying Heartless stood little chance.

"Well, that takes care of that." Sonic said, clapping his hands free of the imaginary dust.

"No thanks to you." Tomo insulted.

"Please, I took out way more Heartless than you did." Sonic proclaimed.

"**Was that before or after you were drowning?**" Dark Sonic sniggered.

"_Shut up!_" Sonic snapped embarrassingly.

Blaze shook her head at the childish squabbling of the Keyblade Masters. But even so, the pyrokinetic feline became much more aware of what had occurred earlier in the battle. Her chest felt tighter and her heart was beating at a rapid rate only from a merely touch of his hand. Blaze had only experienced these feelings around Silver and knowing that she was expressing the emotions around his student only made her feel worse. Was she really willing to betray her lover's trust on an uncertain whim? Thankfully enough, her mind was distracted by a cloud of light-blue cloud depositing the silver mirror courteously of Sliver's master, Nyrox.

"Hey, guys!" Blaze yelled, ending their feud. "Look at this!"

Sonic and Tomo once again set aside their differences and stood on either side of the flaming feline as she grasped the mirror handle. Just as before, the glassy surface only reflected their uncertain expressions before they were enveloped into the sudden ray of light.

* * *

-_Flashback-_

The Keyblade trio was once again back at the dark castle that Black Doom resided, staring out into the valley that led to Hollow Bastion. Judging from their position, only a few seconds had passed after the alien overlord berated them and stormed out of the room. Whoever the trio was looking through, he seemed to be quite miserable.

"Aw, for Chaos' sake..." The trio moaned mournfully. "He didn't have to get upset and yell at me like that. Ok, so I messed up a few things every now and then, but I am a long more things than useless." They stared at the ceiling hopefully. "Why, I remember when I was starting out as the chief scientist for Babylon Garden." They sighed in defeat and remorse. "Oh, how I miss the old days. What I wouldn't give to go back in time..."

The Higher Powers must have heard their prayers. A powerful light shimmered from the back wall and the trio turned fast than a top towards the direction. Standing undisturbed against the dreary backdrop was a porcelain-white door much like the one Shahra had produced earlier. The only difference between them was that the top was more pointed and a strange symbol was pressed at the top: A round object with bristling whiskers. The trio was stunned and hesitated to approach the doorway, but what if this is the answer to their prayer. They reach a gloved hand out to the handles and pulled outwards, staring in awe to the brilliant light that blinded them.

"Hey, I think that's my..." The trio said in a faded voice.

_-End Flashback-_

* * *

"A door?" Sonic said thoughtfully when returning to Flicky Island.

"Isn't that that same door Shahra conjured up?" Blaze questioned.

"How else are they gonna get here?" Tomo said obviously.

"So the door should have sent whoever used it to this world." Sonic stated seriously. "So what are standing around here for? Let's hurry up and found the rest of the Heartless."

Both females simultaneously agreed and followed the cobalt hedgehog through the portal ring, living the innocent Flickys to their own ends.

* * *

The scene alters to a sweeping city that seemed to stretch for miles with sky-high towers, trash littered in the streets, and clouds made of highly polluted smog. In other words, the total opposite of the last sector. From the moment Sonic and Blaze jumped from the portal ring, they nearly suffocated from the thick pollution in the air. By while her comrades were choking on the smog, Tomo took a deep breath as if the toxin atmosphere was like a scent of sweet-smelling fruit.

"Ah, nothing like a little kerosene in your lungs to make you feel alive." Tomo sighed in a heavenly manner.

"Nice to see you're enjoying yourself." Blaze said sarcastically. To block out the nauseating scent, Blaze ripped off her left sleeve and wrapped it around her muzzle. After securing herself, she ripped hr other sleeve and held it out for Sonic to take. "Here, this should block out the smell."

"Thanks." Sonic wheezed as he took the cloth and tied it around his mouth. "Oh, my Higher Powers, that's much better. Thanks for the help, Blaze."

"It was no trouble." Blaze said shyly. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

Sonic was really thankful that his face was covered because he was sure that it was beat-red by now. The cobalt hedgehog always knew he had feels for Amy when he first laid eyes on her, but there was just something about Blaze that made him feel...warm. The Keyblade Master's second likely explanation was that she was using her flaming powers, but even he wasn't stupid enough to believe that. Just looking into her fiery-golden eyes urge him to be closer to her.

"**Snap out of it!**" Dark Sonic screamed, causing Sonic to jump. "**Remember, your heart is meant for Amy. And besides that, Silver is your best friend and you would do him a dishonor to take the one he loves.**"

"_It's not my fault._" Sonic replied sadly. "_I don't want to hurt Silver, but...I just can't stop feeling this way._"

"**The Heart can be deceitful.**" Dark Sonic stated sagely. "**You must remember what is important to you.**"

Sonic sighed deeply, which he was thankful to have go unnoticed by the other two members of his temporary team. Every since he became the Keyblade Master, things have never been easy. Then again, nothing worthwhile was. All this stressful thinking was starting to make Sonic feel overheated. The he realized that stressful think had nothing to do with the humidity. It was amazing that the Keyblade Team was standing only ten feet away from a burning building and none of them noticed up until this point. Sonic just stood by and watched the burning building like it was a mildly interesting program until he was suddenly shoved one side and thrown to the ground. King Jet screeched to a halt upon the sight of the burning tower – his hands positioned ready to claw his own eyes out.

"Someone put out the fire!" Jet shrieked shrilly. "My whole stash is in there!"

"Stash of what exactly?" Blaze questioned surprisingly.

"Oh, you know..." Jet laughed nervously. "Machine parts, a little bit of cash...some bombs."

"Bombs?" Sonic exclaimed with the females. "What the hell are you doing with a stash of bombs?"

"That's not important right now!" Jet stammered feverishly. "If those bombs go off the whole city is going to blow and it's gonna come out of my paycheck!" He turned to Sonic, shaking gruffly him by his shoulder. "I saw what you did back on Flicky Island. Can you use some of that water hocus-pocus?"

"I – need – water – first!" Sonic yelled shakily.

"Well, there's plenty of fire hydrants around." Tomo stated, pointing to the red pipe on the street. "We just crack one open and problem solved."

But just as Sonic had said before, nothing ever comes easy. The Keyblade Kunoichi stepped quickly to the fire hydrant, summoned the Darkblade in hand, and stabbed at the top rim of the pipe. She had nearly pried the container off before two sapphire-blue blur zoomed by and knocked the dark wielder into the air – neither Sonic nor Blaze attempted to catch her. Instead, the dynamic duo, followed by a frustrated Tomo, raised their defenses as the speeding attackers screeched to a halt in front of the hydrant. Two car-like Heartless with sapphire-blue bodies and turquoise top, steel-rimmed tires, and the Heartless emblem attached to the hood growled menacingly to the heroic trio. As if this day couldn't get any weirder.

""Where do they come up with these freaks?" Sonic asked aloud.

"**You're one to talk.**" Dark Sonic replied humorously.

"This shouldn't be too much trouble." Blaze said strategically. "There is only two of them and four of..." Sonic tapped her shoulder, pointing out that Jet had hightailed it out of there. "Er...three of us. If we work to get, we can..."

"Get our asses handed together?" Tomo added.

They really didn't appreciate the negativity. The automotive Heartless lowered themselves closer to the ground and accelerated in place, taking off down the street with a fearsome squeal. Tomo and Blaze were smart enough to dodge roll to either side, but Sonic decided the best course of action was to activate the Kingdom Key's keychain to face them. While enhancing his own speed did slow down the Hot Rods tremendously, the cobalt hedgehog forgot to factor in strength to the equation. The Keyblade Master swung his chosen weapon at the left Hot Rod, only to find his strike rebounded off the surface of its body. With his balance thrown off, Sonic was left unguarded against the second automotive Heartless and was crushed against its grill, throwing him clean off his feet. The cobalt hedgehog suffered a great sore to his backside when being thrusted into a streetlamp, bending the metal awkwardly. Sonic moaned painfully and pushed himself to his hands and knees, but that was as far as he could go from that point – the Kingdom Key had left his side. Both Hot Rods were making a second run for the Keyblade Master, but were forced to a screeching halt as a towering wall of fire erupt between them. Sonic could breathe easy with Blaze standing in the presence of the fire, using all her might to keep the flames rising.

"Blaze..." Sonic panted painfully.

"Save your strength, Sonic." Blaze said strictly. "We're going to need you at full strength to stop the bombs from going off."

"This is...nothing..." Sonic groaned as he forced himself to stand. "I can...totally...take this..."

"Now's not the time to be proud." Blaze proclaimed.

"Yeah, now's the time to help Tomo!"

The duo snapped their attention back at the flaming wall – Blaze lowered her hands to remove the obstacle. Tomo was surrounded by both of the Hot Rods, dodging and flipping over the motorized Heartless to avoid any serious damage. After their last assault, the Keyblade Kunoichi flipped backwards in midair and latched herself to the side of the nearest apartment building. The duo Hot Rods snapped their teeth-like grills at the chameleons and never taking notice to the vanishing flame wall from behind. Sonic stumbled to regain his foot and offered to help, but Blaze's cold stare warned him to stay put, which he hastily agreed to. Though uncertain that Sonic wouldn't uphold his word, the pyrokinetic feline had not time to dwell on the thought before she dashed ahead at a speed comparable to Sonic's keychain ability. The flaming cat ignited her claws with her inner fire and kicked off the ground, propelling herself forward in a blazing tornado. The fiery whirlwind made contact, but these new Heartless were resilient and didn't even feel the flames licking at their bodies. Instead, Blaze unconsciously collided her head with the hood of the first Hot Rod, causing her vision to blur and her senses to be impaired. Barely able to tell her left from her right any longer, the flaming feline only managed two steps before collapsing to her side. The Hot Rod finally discovered the fire warrior lying dazed on the ground and nudged at its partner to redirect their attention to the fallen feline. The dual automotives snapped their teeth-like grills and lunged forward to feast, only to be halt as the Darkblade blocked their way.

"Damn it, this is impossible!" Tomo grunted forcefully. "Whatever you've got planned hedge, make it quick!"

"What am I going to do?" Sonic muttered desperately. "Everything we've tried so far has been a flop. Their immune to fire and the Keyblade, so what else is there to..." While looking for his answer, his eyes upon the abandoned fire hydrant. "Think it will work?"

"**If you don't try, Silver will never forgive you.**" Dark Sonic answered.

"_I have a feeling that's not going to matter either way._" Sonic replied with a sense of foreboding.

Summoning the Kingdom Key to his hand, Sonic jumped forward and sliced the lid off the red pipe, ushering in a geyser of mud-like liquid. This city was not sanitary. The cobalt hedgehog pointed the Keyblade at the aqua tower and waved his hand to the left – the water followed in the same motioned. Sonic focused all his strength in controlling the liquid as it curved around his body and speared forward across the street. Blaze was starting to regain her proper senses again, but Tomo was already on her knees from the pressure building on the Darkblade. She didn't know how long she could hold out. Thankfully, her mission was complete and the Hot Rods were washed away by the water summoned by the Keyblade Master of Twilight. Sonic commanded the water wave to carry the automotive Heartless across the air and brought down the final curtain with a vertical swing of his mighty weapon. The Hot Rods and the water was smashed against the burning building across the street, equally eliminating the Heartless and clearing out the fire.

"Looks like the day is saved once again thanks to yours truly." Sonic said pridefully, helping Blaze to her feet.

"Thank you, Sonic." Blaze nodded gratefully.

"Took you long enough." Tomo sniffed.

"Whew, that was a close one." The heroes screamed and jumped as King Jet popped literally out of nowhere. "Good thing we were here to help."

"We?" Tomo repeated heatedly. "You didn't do a damn thing?"

"Oh, didn't I?" Jet grinned deviously.

"No!" Sonic and Tomo exclaimed simultaneously.

"Guys, look at this!" Blaze called.

The two Keyblade Masters were distracted by their friend's call, allowing Jet to sneak away before getting himself in any further danger. Once again, Master Nyrox summoned a mirror to their position in a cloud of light-blue smoke. The trio already knew what to do at this point and stared simultaneously into the glassy surface before fading into the light.

* * *

_-Flashback-_

The trio were once again back at the dark castle hidden on Hollow Bastion and standing besides the porcelain-white door. Only this time, they were joined by Black Doom, who seemed entranced by the elements beyond the open doorway. All three eyes were unblinking and changing position every few seconds, absorbing everything he was witnessing.

"Fascinating..." Black Doom murmured. "This doorway appears to be a portal to the past."

"That's what I expected." The trio nodded. "Everything is exactly as I remember it before they built Babylon Garden, back when I was actually revered."

"Then we can start thinking of a way to use this to our advantage." Black Doom snarled impatiently. "Perhaps this would be the perfect opportunity to redeem yourself of your recent blunders."

"Oh, thank you, Black Doom." The trio bowed gratefully. "You can count on me. What is it that you need me to do?"

"That's where the fun begins." Black Doom said menacingly. "As you can plainly see, the Star of Light is left exposed. Babylon Garden will be ours soon enough."

-_End Flashback-_

* * *

"So Black Doom found a way to this world." Sonic growled angrily as they returned. "He must have known all along about what's been happening. He's probably the one that sent the Heartless to begin with."

"He also said the door leads to the past." Blaze added thoughtfully.

"No, it comes here!" Tomo rebutted.

"But if that is the case, then that means we are in the past!" Blaze yelped shockingly; Sonic and Tomo glanced to one another frightfully. "It makes sense now! That construction site we visited earlier – they were building Babylon Garden!"

"Wow, this is tense." Sonic mumbled. "If we're in the past..."

"Then we can change the future!" Tomo exclaimed excitedly. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We can alter the past so that the Heartless never invaded Babylon Garden! Hell, we could probably make it so that the Heartless never existed!"

"Hold on!" Blaze yelled strictly. "Remember what Shahra told us? We can't tamper with anything in this world! One small alteration could make it that none of us are ever born!"

"I guess you have a point there." Sonic said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "So...what are we going to do?"

"C'mon, we've got one more stop to make." Tomo waved to the ring portal. "Hopefully we'll figure out the rest of this mystery."

* * *

The scenery switches to another tropical scenery much like the one present on Flicky Island. But in contrast, the island was large enough to hold an entire city, the greenery was more scattered, and small stone ruins rested in the heart of the land. But possibly the greatest difference between them was the fact that this desolated piece of rock was floating two hundred miles off the ground. When arriving via ring portal, the Keyblade Team was given the chance to better investigate the lost ruins clustered along the deep jungles and watch careful detail of the wall glyphs. From what Blaze could translate for the team, whatever village formerly dwelled on this floating island worshipped a sapient being that would transform into a monstrous titan when angered – the story sounded vaguely familiar to Sonic.

"Where'd ya think we are now?" Sonic asked cluelessly.

"My guess?" Tomo said aloud, staring over the island edge. "Not where I'd want to be."

"Remember, we're in Babylon Garden's past." Blaze forewarned. "So whatever you do, don't touch..."

Whatever luck Sonic had on his side, it wasn't working well with him today. The cobalt hedgehog leaned against an unstable wall of the ruins, unintentionally causing the weak structure to collapse. The unstable bricks broke off and crashed into a stone column, which broke off a nearby tree, which dislodged a moss covered boulder. The large rock rolled down the hillside and somehow managed to lodge itself between two trees, which slingshot their fragment back up the hill. The Keyblade Team watched with mild interest as the boulder flew clear over their heads and dropped with a powerful thud into a temple that was situated to the right side.

"Anything..." Blaze finished blandly.

"In my opinion, it's an improvement." Sonic chuckled nervously.

"**Not really helping yourself.**" Dark Sonic commented.

The cobalt hedgehog groaned inwardly and prepared himself for Blaze's scolding. But to Sonic's disbelief, the pyrokinetic feline lit the flames in her claws and pressed them together, forming a solidified fireball – how did he deserve this? But instead of receiving the burning end of the assault, the orb of flames passed clearly over his head, following by an explosion of dark mist. Craning his head backwards, Sonic finally realized that he had been saved from an overhead Soldier Heartless and several more were beginning to crawl over the fractured wall. Sonic jumped at the imminent danger and summoned his Keyblade when rejoining with his comrades. From the looks of it, the Heartless squadron mostly consisted of over two dozen common Shadows and a handful of Soldier Heartless.

"Standards have really gone down." Tomo commented. "I was expect a giant centipede or maybe even a few bats."

"We've been fighting hammers, airplanes, and out of control cars." Blaze recounted with a great sigh. "Personally, I prefer an easy outing."

"Let's just get rid of them so we can find out what Black Doom's up to." Sonic said.

Needless to say, the fight was very much straight forward in comparison to the last three sections of the world. Sonic dived headlong into the small squadron with his Keyblade raised for action, swinging in a full circle upon landing. His initial strike managed to wipe out a large number of their Soldiers, but the Shadow's small stature proved helpful when ducking the weapon of Twilight. One of the surviving beasts twitched anxiously near the hedgehog's ankle and hopped forward for a classic head-butt tactic. However, Blaze was once again at her friend's side with her claw set aflame to eradicate the attacker. Sonic smiled gratefully to the pyrokinetic feline – Blaze could feel her heart beating against her chest. She was utterly entranced by the Keyblade wielding hedgehog that she failed to take notice of a single Soldier Heartless spinning on its toe with its leg held outwards. That's why you always travel in groups. Before the Soldier could reach the feline, a gloved hand snatched its leg out of the air and suspended the Heartless upside-down by its ankle. Tomo sniffed in a dignified manner and decapitated the Soldier with her Darkblade before spinning the handle of her weapon backwards, blindly stabbing her Keyblade backwards. But her skills proved themselves as she managed to skewer two Shadows through the head without even looking. As the battle dragged on, the Heartless swarm found themselves dropping fast in terms of numbers until their was only one miniscule Shadow Heartless trying to make a break for it. The dark insect barely made it two feet before Blaze's flames eliminated the beast.

"Well, that was easy." Sonic commented nonchalantly.

"That's because the author was too lazy to make a real fight." Tomo muttered disappointedly.

"The what?" Sonic and Blaze asked simultaneously.

"Never mind." Tomo said quickly.

"Well, the fact is that everyone is safe." Blaze said as she turned to the hedgehog. "Now all that's left to figure out is..." But whether good or bad luck, the pyrokinetic feline turned on her heels and unconsciously tripped on a broken fragment of rock. Thankfully, Sonic was able to securely catch her in his arms. "Oh, sorry. That was really clumsy of me."

"You're alright." Sonic said embarrassingly. "Could have happened to anyone."

The pyrokinetic smiled gratefully at Sonic's consideration and felt suddenly warmer around her cheeks. Though she tried to stave off the temptation, Blaze could not resist staring into the hedgehog's innocent jade-green eyes. When gold met green, Sonic could feel his ribcage tightening in his chest – a feeling he normally experienced around Amy. Tomo wasn't paying any attention to the scene as she had become distracted by the wall painting of a serpent made of liquid energy called Chaos. The Keyblade Kunoichi only scratched her head at the glyphs written on the tablet and craned her head at ask for assistance in translation. Tomo's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull. Sonic the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat had been caught in an intimate moment – their eyes closed in pleasure and their lips brushing against one another. The cobalt hedgehog couldn't understand why, but there was something about this that seemed so wrong, yet so right. Blaze felt terrible that she was betraying her beloved, but this feeling in her heart was too powerful to resist. She loved the feel, the taste of the cobalt hedgehog standing before her and returned his feelings with equal passion.

"Oh my Higher Power!" Tomo shrieked stunning, finally startling the two away from each other. "I cannot believe you two just did that!"

"I-I don't know what came over me." Sonic stammered frightfully, jumping away from the feline. "I-I just – I mean..."

"I can't explain what happened." Blaze panted shakily, turning her sad eyes to the chameleon. "Please don't tell Silver."

"I may be a sadistic bitch, but I'm not that cruel." Tomo shook her head. "But you are gonna have to explain this to him yourself. The longer you put it off, the worse it's going to be when he finds out."

"**I have to agree with Tomo on this one.**" Dark Sonic nodded sternly. "**What you have done is an unholy act against your teacher and best friend. If you come clean, there might be a chance that Silver will show some signs of forgiveness.**"

"_I want to tell Silver._" Sonic replied. "_But...I really liked it._"

"**It's seems there's more darkness in you than we realized.**" Dark Sonic said solemnly.

"Yo, peeps!" The trio yelped and jumped away at Jet's sudden appearance. "What's the haps?"

"What's the haps?" Tomo repeated angrily. "Where were when we were fighting all those heartless, or when we were getting run over, or when we were being shot out of the sky?"

"All you have done is run away in the face of battle." Blaze glared angry; her emotions were still tense. "It is your duty as a member of the royal family to persevere and protect order over your kingdom, your majesty."

"Your majesty." Jet repeated confused; his eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh, I get! You seem to have mistaken me for Prince Jet of the royal family. My name is Bean the Dynamite, resident demolition expert."

"Bean the Dynamite?" Sonic said blandly. "So you're not Jet."

"Nope." Bean shook. "As if he could be compared to this handsome devil."

The Keyblade Trio shared an evil glare between one another before setting their sights back on the deceitful bird. Next thing, he knew, Bean was flying fifty miles over the floating island and dropped into the ocean, smacking painfully on the water surface. The trio recalled their respective weapons, relieved to express their anger in some form. And just on time, a cloud of light-blue smoke popped out of thin air, leaving behind the usual mirror summoned by Master Nyrox. Tomo obviously was the one to collect mirror with Sonic and Blaze standing on either side of her – they were trying to keep at a distance. The Keyblade Chameleon rolled her eyes and stared at the surface before they were engulfed by the light

* * *

_-Flashback-_

The Keyblade Trio once again stood in the chamber of the dark castle, watching Black Doom carefully. Though his face was normally indistinguishable, they could tell he was beyond pleased. The alien overlord looked over the doorway to the past once more then turn back to the trio.

"Listen well." Black Doom commanded. "On the other side of this portal, they are about to begin construction of that wretched Babylon Garden. But until then, their treasured Star of Light lies unguarded, with all of its power still contained."

"I remember." The trio said angrily. "I helped that filthy pigeon, Accel, discover that sacred artifact and discovered its unnatural gifts."

"Yes, and it is that cursed crystal that prevents us from entering the world." Black Doom said malevolently. "You know what needs to be done?" The trio nodded. "Go then. Time prove your worth! Don't you dare fail me again!"

And with his final orders given, the alien overlord turned and exited the chamber with a swish of his tattered cloak. It was this time that the trio could escape the vision of their seer and captured his full form. The same cherry-red jacket, the same dark glasses, and the same unnatural mustache. Dr. Eggman cackled in a maniacal tone distinct only to himself while rubbing his hands together eagerly.

"Oh, don't you worry, Black Doom." Eggman said evilly. "I have no intention of failing. And when I return, I will have unlocked all the secrets of the Star of Light and then we'll see who is taking orders from who." With a happy spring in his step, the Babylonian Scientist marched over to the doorway and pulled the handles open with a flourish of his hands. "But first, I need to collect my old Egg-Mobile again."

_-End Flashback-_

* * *

"So it was Eggman after all!" Sonic snapped, not even wondering how they returned to the Green Hill Zone. "He tricked us all along."

"I can understand you falling for it, but how did I get duped?" Tomo questioned; Sonic glared.

"Still, something doesn't seem quite right." Blaze said thoughtfully. "Dr. Robotnik did have kind of an attitude problem, but he didn't seem as evil as the Eggman we've come to know."

"Why don't you ask him yourself!" Tomo shouted pointedly.

Sonic and Blaze snapped their heads in the direction Tomo pointed to, surprised to find Dr. Eggman standing only a short distance away. But unlike their last encounter, Eggman seemed to have retained the same form he kept when they last fought at Master Nyrox's tower. The egg-shaped scientist caught onto them when Tomo pointed him out, laughing at the top of his lungs as he made a run down the hillside. With her sharp eyes, Blaze spotted something shining clutched in Eggman's hand. with a fearful thought, the pyrokinetic feline turned on her heels, yelling frightfully.

"He took the Star of Light!" Blaze exclaimed, pointing to the empty pedestal. "Now the castle will be completely defenseless!"

"That sound's like the Eggman we know." Sonic said with his eyes narrowed. "We'll show him what happens when you mess with us."

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't that hard to find the Babylonian Scientist. At that exact moment, Dr. Robotnik came running up the hillside, panting heavily from the overexertion on his rotund body. However, Sonic did note that his appearance varied from the Eggman they had just saw not a moment ago. It was only when Dark Sonic placed the theory in his head that this Eggman might be the one from the past, meaning that were two Eggmans in the world – Sonic's head hurt.

"Hold it right there!" Tomo demanded.

"No way, small fry!" Dr. Robotnik snapped irritably. "I finally found the arrogant jerk that stole my precious Egg-Mobile!"

"Yeah, it was you." Blaze nodded.

"Right, me!" Dr. Robotnik nodded. Realizing his own verbal blunder, the round scientist stammered and swatted his hands wildly. "No! No! It wasn't me! It's just somebody who looks like me!"

"Oh, I'm so confused!" Sonic cried tearfully.

The Babylonian Scientist sniffed irritably and finally turned, chasing down his future self. Blaze and Tomo had questionable looks on their faces, but Sonic felt it was best to leave this unnatural paradox alone – time travel is vastly confusing. So instead of trying to wrap their heads around this, the trio solemnly followed Dr. Robotnik down to the tracks. But even with the prospect of facing Eggman again, the memory of the sweet kiss was still fresh in Sonic's mind.

"**This may be worse than I thought.**" Dark Sonic said concerned.

* * *

**The secrets of Green Hill Zone come to light. Will Sonic and his friends save the timeline from Eggman's disaster? Will the Babylonian Scientist succeed into overpowering Black Doom? And will Sonic and Blaze reveal their dark secret to Silver? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	30. The OldFashioned Way, Part 3

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Old-Fashioned Way, Part 3

The scenery reopens to the Green Hill Zone, the home world of the Babylonians before Babylon Garden's creation. It still came as a shock for the Keyblade gang to learn that Shahra's portal had led them into the past, but it was worse to know that Eggman and Black Doom had access to the same power. Sonic, escorted by Blaze and Tomo, skidded to a halt at the base of the hillside as they approached the wide lake that stretched over for miles. If there was anything unusual about this large mass of water besides its abnormal size, it was probably the miniature planet floating overhead, chained to a rock formation on the edge of the lake.

"Well, there's something you don't see every day." Sonic commented interestingly.

"According to Babylon history, this is Never Lake." Blaze informed as she gestured to the lake. Sonic felt guilty that the pyrokinetic seemed to force hurt attention more on Tomo than himself. "It was once a small satellite that orbited above Never Lake, but only appeared during one month of the year. No one knows where it goes during the rest of the time."

"So you literally don't see it every day." Sonic said, scratching his head.

"**I can tell there is a pun to this.**" Dark Sonic said dully as Sonic's opened his mouth. "**Don't even go there.**"

"You know what else we don't see?" Tomo stated irritably. "Eggman. Where in the deepest rings of Hell did he go?"

"Hold it right there!"

The Keyblade trio quickly snapped in attention to the sound of the obnoxious voice, easily able to distinguish it as Dr Robotnik's. And thankfully enough, the past version of their old enemy had found Eggman attempting to make a getaway only a few paces around the edge of the lake. It was a strange sight to see Eggman fighting with his past self – the malevolent scientist still had the Star of Light curled into his left hand. But it was apparent that Dr. Robotnik was not concerned for the crystallized box and instead struggled to reclaim a one-man hovercraft drifting loftily over the surface of the lake. The round scientist pitifully smacked his hands at his future self, but Eggman was clearly more powerful and wise than the retro-styled engineer. This was proven as Eggman effortlessly shoved his past self backwards with one hand.

"You stay out of my way!" Eggman commanded. "Your future is on the line, so back off and give me the Egg-Mobile!"

"Never!" Dr. Robotnik exclaimed.

Eggman groaned and rubbed his pounding forehead – was he always an annoying codger? Dr. Robotnik must have believed that his future counterpart was distracted and charged forward with his arms swinging around like windmills. Do you honestly thin k he could win? No, Eggman just delivered a simplistic uppercut that shot his retro-styled counterpart flying over the Little Planet and creating a distant splash in the lake. Sonic groaned inwardly, Blaze shook her head in disbelief, and Tomo openly laughed at the unfortunate scientist, earning a glare from her teammates. However, their moment of distraction ended as Eggman settled himself in the round hovercraft above the lake water with a wide grin from the doctor himself. And by the time Sonic could reach the edge, Eggman had already used the Egg-Mobiles flight function to drift outwards towards the center of Never Lake.

"Give back the Star of Light, fiend!" Blaze demanded.

"Fiend?" Tomo ludicrously. "What? We're in the medieval ages now?"

"Leave her alone!" Sonic snapped.

"That's right, Sonic." Tomo said sternly. "Defend your little girlfriend."

Sonic would have given anything to stop the Keyblade Chameleon from reminding them of there little incident only moments ago. The Keyblade Master still couldn't believe that he had willingly kissed Blaze the Cat, Silver's true love, with the pyrokinetic feline returning the full passion. The cobalt hedgehog could not understand why his heart had betrayed him at the simplest whim of desire, completely forgetting his own passion for Amy. Eggman could feel the awkwardness in the air and chortled loudly for everyone to understand his sense of amusement.

"A little trouble in paradise?" Eggman cackled.

"There's gonna be a lot more if you don't give back the Star of Light." Sonic proclaimed threateningly, summoning the Kingdom Key to face the round scientist. "There are three of us an only one of you – you can't take us all on. So if you come down willingly, we promise we won't hurt you."

"We won't?" Tomo blinked; Blaze slapped her over the head. "Gah, you crazy bitch!"

"A tempting offer." Eggman said mockingly. "But I have a better one."

Reaching into his coat pocket, the Babylonian scientist revealed a small, handheld control and slammed his thumb onto the blaring-red trigger at the top. A powerful explosion ripped through eh surface of Never Lake, showering the heroes in a light drizzle of water. The Keyblade trio could only guess that Eggman released depth charges in the lake, but sadly disappointed and, in Blaze's case, terrified. Emerging from the wake of Never Lake was a titanic machine with a multiple level of thick, rusty-red armor, wing-like protrusions from its shoulders, and a row of green orbs at the bottom to it the impression of a tail. Covering the machine's right hand was a powerful laser system with a circle of eight Gatling barrels wrapped around the main cylinder. The left hand was replaced by an electrified sword that was spiraled strangely in the shape of a drill. The head of the machine was nowhere in sight, but was instead left unoccupied until Eggman and the Egg-Mobile settled in its place. Eggman laughed joyously above the stunned trio, commanding his new weapon of destruction to clash it weapons in a threatening manner.

"**You don't see that every day.**" Dark Sonic commented.

* * *

**Mechanical Titan: Egg-Dragoon**

"Ok, anyone mind telling me where that came from?" Tomo shrieked freakishly.

"Such technology shouldn't be available at this time!" Blaze glared dangerously. "What have you done, Eggman?"

"You didn't think I'd be foolish enough to come unarmed!" Eggman cackled menacingly. "I had expected the Keyblade Master to try and stop me, so I decided to bring some precautions." He slapped the metal of his advanced weapon fondly. "I had built the Egg-Dragoon a few years before being banished, but it will only work if I have my trusted Egg-Mobile at the controls. That meddlesome king got rid of my beautiful hovercraft shortly after my exile."

"So that's why you hunted down Dr. Robotnik first." Sonic said theoretically. "If you wanted to have some muscle, you needed to steal your Egg-Mobile back...from yourself." He scratched his head fiercely. "But if you steal it from yourself, then how do you still have it in the future. Unless the one you steal back is the original one or the original one was stolen bac or maybe..."

"**Please stop!**" Dark Sonic screamed. "**I'm running out of room here!**"

"_Time paradoxes really hurt my head._" Sonic groaned, rubbing his forehead. "_That's probably one of the reasons why the game never sold well._"

"**What game?**" Dark Sonic asked confused.

"_Never mind!_" Sonic replied sharply.

"Now, Keyblade Master, prepare for the end!" Eggman exclaimed.

The Babylonian scientist took hold of the controls and commanded the Egg-Dragoon to raise its right hand – the Gatling gun spiraled around the main pistol. As the Mechanical Titan unleashed eight separate blasts of blazing energy, Blaze and Tomo dodge rolled to either side, but Sonic bravely tumbled forward. The cobalt hedgehog called forth the powers of his earth magic and formed a sphere of compressed rock and dirt around his body –the Keyblade pressed close to his chest. The earthly barrier managed to deflect the two initial shots, but the compressed stones were breaking off upon contact with the remainder of the load. By the seventh shot, Sonic's barrier had been shattered. The cobalt hedgehog was thrown back by the force of the impact and rebounded off the ground – his winced at the sharp flint digging at his shoulder. However, that was nothing compared to the pain he felt afterwards. Sonic was still flailing in the air when the final shot made full contact with his back, leaving behind a smoking-black mark over his spinal cord. Eggman was overjoyed. The Keyblade Master finally touched the grass again and rolled unconsciously on his side, hissing and moaning for the burning sensation tearing at his nerves. While Tomo tried to bravely attack Eggman head-on Blaze dashed over and skidded to a halt at Sonic's side, kneeling close with a worried stare.

"Sonic, are you all right?" Blaze asked fearfully.

"Blaze..."Sonic moaned weakly. "I can't...move..."

Petrified by the ordeal, Blaze rolled her companion over on his stomach to face the burn, trying her best to not look away. The fur around the place where the mark hit was charcoal-black and a few wisps of flames still licked against the hedgehog's skin. Blaze used her powers to kill the flames, but soon finding herself in a difficult position not to vomit on the spot. Eggman's blast had ripped away at Sonic's skin, revealing the bone and marrow buried beneath it the shell. Scarlet tears rolled down the hedgehog's sides and smeared against the once evergreen grass and the lavender cat's formally white gloves. But when Blaze could see the Keyblade Master's beating heart beyond his spinal cord, she couldn't hold it any longer – tears mingled with the contents of her stomach.

"Oh...Sonic..." Blaze wept openly.

"Blaze...You've gotta..." Sonic grunted forcefully, trying to push himself up.

"Don't move." Blaze warned, trying to force him down. "You're critically injured. One false move could..."

"Don't worry about me." Sonic hissed, grabbing her forearm. "You need to stop Eggman before he gets away with a Star of Light."

"That would be a great idea!"

The heroes barely registered the shrill cry of their third member until she dashed past them in a blur of color – Blaze pulled Sonic away from the energy bullets that followed. Tomo was running for dear life as Eggman's machine performed a rapid fire motion directly on her heels. The Keyblade Chameleon didn't risk the chances of looking back and instead made a quick sdash to the rock formation that kept Little Planet chained to the world. Tomo flipped forward into the air and used the traits of her species to successfully stick herself to the mountains surface using only her feet. As she climbed up the rock formation, the Egg-Dragoon cocked its gatling gun and began collecting the necessary energy for the attack. However, Tomo swiftly swiped her signature Darkblade forward, summoned a colossus of black flames at the broken teeth of the blade. The Keyblade Chameleon swiped her weapon and released the Dark Firaga into the air, which separated into eight smaller fireballs upon her command. Eggman gapped in a shocked and terrified manner as each individual Dark Firaga filled the eight slots of the Gatling gun, resulting in a complete system overload. The Babylonian scientists raised the sword arm of the Egg-Dragoon in front of the cockpit to absorb the explosion created by the destruction of the Mechanical Titan's leading weapon. All that remained was the central piston of the Egg-Dragoon's right hand – at least it was still functional.

"You little wench!" Eggman sneered. "Do you know how much I had to steal to build that?"

"What's the matter, eggy?" Tomo taunted, twirling the Darkblade in hand. "Is that seriously the best you can do?"

"Far from it." Eggman proclaimed.

Tomo found it difficult to cling to the rock when the monolithic mountain presented a terrible shudder. The Keyblade was forced to grapple to the mountain on all-fours – her weapon was taken by gravity – and looked down to the source of the miniature earthquake. In all the excitement, Tomo had forgotten the sword-drill carried on the Egg-Dragoon's left arm, which was piercing the rock formation. The drill function the Mechanical Titan's blade was digging deeper into the surface of the mountain, creating a web-like fracture around the hole. Tomo was unable to move due to the increased tremors created by the assault and was given no other option than to slip off the mountain surface along with the other fragments. The Keyblade Chameleon was over forty feet in the air and stood little chance of surviving the fall. But by some divine miracle – and a stroke of bad luck – the Egg-Dragoon orb tail snapped around the chameleon's midsection, saving her from the fall. The Mechanical Titan raised the Keyblade Chameleon higher until she was face-to-face with Eggman.

"Enjoying yourself?" Eggman smirked deviously.

"Don't think that you've won." Tomo stated defiantly. "Any minute now, the lovebirds are gonna come to my rescue." The two waited for a few short minutes, waiting for something to happen – the Egg-Dragoon sneezed. "They're not coming, are they?"

"Doesn't look like it." Eggman shrugged.

"Damn." Tomo cursed.

* * *

The scene returns to the top of the Green Hill Zone with Blaze diligently carrying the Keyblade Master on her back, staggering slightly under his weight. The pyrokinetic feline stared over her shoulder with worry that every second that passed may end up being his last. Sonic remained unconscious due to his near-death experience, but was now covered by Blaze's coat – the feline wore a white undershirt. As the duo slowly approached the porcelain-white door crafted by Shahra's magic, Blaze gently shrugged the hedgehog off her shoulders and forced him to lean against the central podium that once held the Star of Light. She was extra cautious to make sure she didn't touch his injury as to cause any discomfort.

"You should be safe here." Blaze sighed deeply. She spent a long moment stare at his unconscious form, gently caressing his cheek with her hand. "I don't understand why you make me feel this way. I honestly love Silver, but I can't stop these feelings I have for you. Has my heart been lying to me all this time...or have I been lying to myself?"

The lavender cat held no answers and doubted that she would be receiving any for quite a while. Even in a moment of great crisis, Blaze suddenly found herself being urged to move closer and taste him once again – she was unable to defeat it. The pyrokinetic felines closed her eyes softly and leaned forward, slowly closing the gap between herself and the hedgehog. Fortunately, her temptation was warded off when a sharp squeal pierced the airwaves. Blaze had forced herself to pull away in time as the Keyblade Chameleon was thrown across the hillside and crashed into the evergreen grass, skidding to a halt in front of them. Tomo pulled herself from the hole she made, spitting out the blades of grass that slipped into her mouth.

"Thanks for the help." Tomo said sarcastically as she stood. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"I'm sorry, but Sonic is seriously hurt." Blaze glowered. "I needed to make sure he was out of harms way before we could do anything. After all, he is the Keyblade Master."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a Keyblade Master, too!" Tomo said impatiently, tapping her foot. "And right now, this Keyblade Master needs all the help she can get! So move your furry ass and let's get going!"

the pyrokinetic feline wanted desperately to argue – to say that Sonic's safety was more important – but knew that her duty came first and her emotions second. It was one of the things she had learned from her parents before arriving on Babylon Garden. With a heavy sigh, Blaze readjusted Sonic's position to which he was most comfortable and finally stood, turning to the dark wielder. The Keyblade Chameleon merely gestured her head for Blaze to follow and took off down the hillside towards Never Lake. But shortly following their departure, Sonic finally found the strength to open his eyes and groaned in a painful manner, shifting his body to sit up. He was quick to learn his mistake as he hissed from the pain of his exposed spinal cord, falling forward on his face. The Keyblade Master had never felt so vulnerable. The situation didn't get any better when an unwelcomed face suddenly loomed over him, spreading his shadow over the hedgehog.

"What have we here?"

* * *

Back in Never Lake, the Egg-Dragoon was hovering loftily over the surface of the lake, moving low enough to inspect the area around him from a close angle. Even though the Mechanical Titan had thrown Tomo at a great distance, Eggman was smart enough to realize that she wouldn't stay down and Blaze was still at large. This fact was proven when the Babylonian scientist moved to retrieve the Darkblade and learned of his sudden disappearance – Tomo had recalled it. As the Egg-Dragoon moved closer to the mountain chaining the Little Planet, Tomo and Blaze had crawled on their stomachs to the edge and stared down at their powerful adversary.

"As long as he is floating in the middle of the lake, we can't touch him." Blaze calculated with a whisper. "So as long as we lure him to the shore, we should have a better chance of disarming him."

"And how exactly do you intend to distract him long enough to break his toy?" Tomo questioned in an unconvinced tone. The dark chameleon shudder as Blaze turned to her with a grin to rival the Cheshire Cat. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Not it the least." Blaze said deviously; she's been hanging around Sonic too much.

"Bah, when in blazes could they be?" Eggman grumbled heatedly. "I mean, how hard is it to find a little kitten that shoots fireballs and mouthy little brat with a Keyblade?"

"I'm not mouthy!"

He round scientist craned his head back with the Egg-Dragoon following the motion. Tomo had jumped off the peak of the mountain – thrown off more like it – with the Darkblade clutched in both hands and raised over her head. The Keyblade Chameleon approached like a speeding bullet and swiped her weapon in a vertical motion, which was unfortunately blocked off by the Egg-Dragoon's sword-drill. Because of the major difference in mass and power, Tomo was thrown off and plopped against her back on the surface of the mountain, using her hands and feet to cling to it. The Egg-Dragoon activated the drill motion of its remaining weapons and stabbed ahead at the dark chameleon, who rolled to the side to avoid it, still clinging to the rock. Once the sword-drill had been buried deep into the monolithic formation, the opportunity arose for Blaze. The lavender feline kicked off the edge of the mountain and spearhead downwards with the Egg-Dragoon's arm as her target. Blaze summoned the flame in her heart as she curved into a spiraling motion, forming a tornado of cindering flames to protect her. And before the Babylonian scientist could register the occurrence, the flaming whirlwind snapped through the reinforced steel in the Egg-Dragoon's arm and severed it from the rest of the body. Eggman uttered a string of curses under his breath as he redirected the Mechanical Titan away from the heroes. Blaze relinquished her flames and flipped forward to land safely on her feet at the base of the mountain, meeting Tomo on the way down.

"It's true; cats really do land on their feet." Tomo said jokingly.

"Augh! You two are becoming a real pain in the derriere!" Eggman yelled furiously; the Egg-Dragoon hovered over the Little Planet, completely out of their range. "But know this; Dr. Eggman will have the final laugh!"

"It's over, Eggman!" Blaze shouted in a final tone. "You've lost both of your weapons and the two of us are more than a match for you!"

"Oh, my darling Blaze!" Eggman cackled wickedly. "You think I would create the ultimate weapon without having a few contingencies stashed away just for the scenario? I have quite a few surprises in store for you!"

Both females glanced at each other with their brows raised in a confused manner. Was he bluffing or was he willing to make good on his threat? Apparently, it was the latter. The Egg-Dragoon threw out the remains of its right arm, reminding the duo of the single cylinder that remained. Before either Blaze or Tomo could figure out what his intensions were, Eggman commanded his titanic robot to unleash a cluster of ice particles close to the shore of Never Lake. Both female warriors of the Keyblade Team figured they were safe since the Egg-Dragoon had only attacked the water in front of them, but quickly regretted that mistake. From the moment the ice particles made contact with the water, a shockwave of frozen air vibrated across everything within twenty feet of the area, instantaneously freezing everything it made contact with. Unfortunately, this included Blaze and Tomo. The female warriors were completely covered in ice from the neck down and found themselves incapable of breaking free – neither of their fire magic was active.

"I've heard of giving someone the cold shoulder, but this is ridiculous." Tomo grunted forcefully.

"This is turning out to be a great day after all!" Eggman chortled happily. "I have the Star of Light in my possession, I have my old Egg-Mobile back, and now I'm about to destroy you accused females once and for all!" He commanded the Egg-Dragoon to raise its remaining weapon, charging for the next impact. "Any final words?"

"I've got a few."

Blaze gasped and turned her head at the same time Tomo groaned, following the same motion of curiosity. Sonic the Hedgehog was standing at a distance away from their current position – his wound was sealed tight by a row of gauze and bandages. The cobalt hedgehog had summoned the Keyblade to his hand, but was also standing next to an unusual device. It resembled something like the shaft of a silver gun, but with yellow circuits trailing down the sides and was large enough to fit a whole person inside. What really took them – and Eggman – back was the round scientist working the controls of the machine.

"Dr. Robotnik?" Tomo and Blaze questioned simultaneously.

"What do you think you are doing?" Eggman yelled from a distance.

"This will be the first opportunity to test out my new Sonic Cannon!" Dr. Robotnik laughed gleefully. "Using the correct proportions and velocity, my little blue friend here will be able to punish you for steal my precious Egg-Mobile!"

"I remember that device!" Eggman shouted confidently. "That machine was only a prototype! It doesn't have the necessary energy or impact jettison needed to reach this level of height and still cause enough damage to my Egg-Dragoon!"

"We'll see about that." Sonic smirked. The cobalt hedgehog turned to face the shaft and curled his body inwards before lodging himself into the cannon. "Fire away, doc!"

The round scientists wasted no time and slammed his fist on the console, watching the Sonic Cannon skid backwards when releasing the cobalt sphere. But much to the girl's dismay and Eggman's jubilation, the Keyblade Master was sent flying in the direction away from the Egg-Dragoon. The Babylonian scientist sniggered at the buffoon's pathetic attempt and readied the Egg-Dragoon's freeze piston for the final shot. The ended up being the mistake he wouldn't soon forget. As it turned out, Eggman and his Mechanical Titan were the intended targets for the Sonic Cannon, but was instead aimed for the chain connecting to Little Planet. Combining the high amounts of acceleration and the strength of the Keyblade, Sonic was able to snap the metallic links with hardly any effort. And everything went from there. No longer bound to the world, Little Planet began to drift upwards into the sky and collided with the Egg-Dragoon above, crushing the Mechanical Titan upon impact. Eggman managed to separate the Egg-Mobile from the main body of his machine, but the explosion created upon the destruction threw the Babylonian scientist off balance and lunged out of his seat. And with his fall, the Star of Light was freed from the captivity of his pockets and slowly drifted back down to the world along with Eggman and the Egg-Mobile. At the last second, Sonic rebound off the mountainside and Spin Dashed backwards across the air, safely capturing the Star of Light before Eggman could take the chance to nab it. And so the Keyblade Master of Twilight landed safely on the shore, laughing openly as his enemy performed a belly flop in the middle of Never Lake.

"Look's like that's game." Sonic grinned.

"**Again, what game?**" Dark Sonic exclaimed.

**Egg-Dragoon: Defeated**

* * *

"Bah! Meddlesome hedgehog!" Eggman snarled as he pulled himself out of the lake. "This won't be the last you've seen of me!"

That much was obvious. After Dr. Robotnik had successfully thawed out Blaze and Tomo using his own invention, the trio stood as a barrier against the Babylonian traitor. Eggman knew it was time to turn tail. the round scientist turned on his heels and raised his hands to the sky, miraculously summoning the doorway that led him to this world. The Keyblade Team only watched amusingly as Eggman whipped the doors open and scuttled back to the future, snapping the doors behind him. Sonic could take over from here. Stabbing the Kingdom Key ahead like so many times before, the Keyblade released a thin beam of pure light from its teeth and pierced the shining keyhole that appeared. A loud clang echoed and the porcelain-white door faded from the realm of reality, never to be misused again.

"Well, that takes care of that." Tomo commented, wiping the imaginary dust on her hands.

"Here, Blaze." Sonic said shyly, offer back the feline's coat. "I think you might want this back."

"Thank you..." Blaze murmured softly, taking back her possession.

"Would someone mind tell me what's bee going on here?" Dr. Robotnik asked, causing the trio to jump. They had forgotten that he was still around. "Who was that illiterate jerk, anyway? He looked awfully familiar."

"You're kidding, right?" Sonic said in disbelief. "That was you from the..."

"Sonic, that's a secret!" Blaze exclaimed, slapping her hand on the hedgehog's mouth.

"Secret?" Dr. Robotnik said interested. "What kind of secret? Oh, never mind. I have bigger things worry about like fishing my Egg-Mobile from the lake. It could take a few weeks before I can get it back."

Thankfully, the Babylonian scientists didn't bother asking anymore questions and went back to digging through Never Lake, allowing the Keyblade Team the opportunity to return to the hillside. Sonic took the first moment he could to replace the Star of Light atop the podium where it belonged, shining its brilliant light across the Green Hill Zone.

"Babylon Garden should be safe now." Blaze proclaimed happily. "And that means everyone that was affected by the curse should be returning to their original states."

"Then it's time we get a move on." Sonic nodded.

"Wait a minute!" Tomo exclaimed anxiously. "As long as we're here..."

That was about all the Keyblade Chameleon could get out before her teammates started dragging her backwards by her arms to the doorway. Tomo tried to tempt them into changing the contents of the past, claiming that it would be for the best, but forgot that Blaze and Sonic held strict morals. The cobalt hedgehog and lavender feline opened the door simultaneously and threw their third party member through the passage before following behind, snapping the door shut behind them.

* * *

Returning to the future of Babylon Garden, Silver, Angel, and Marine were running back and forth between the aging Babylonians, asking if they needed anything to assist them. Though at this point, it looks like nothing could help ward off their discomfort. All four members of Babylon Garden seemed to reach to their late nineties with their skin starting to sag against their bones, their bodies becoming abnormally thin, and two off them seemed to have actually gone blind. It would only be a few moments before they reached the end of their limit. Merlina offered to use some of her magic to aid them, but the Sonic Team quickly turned them down, not bothering to hide their misgivings for her talent. Merlina seemed heartbroken by their lack of trust and turned to her master, who was still eyeing the doorway.

"Anything happened, master?" Merlina questioned softly.

"I can't tell on this side." Shahra replied unconsciously. "We won't know until the change has affected this half of the time stream."

"But when will we know?" Merlina asked.

Almost as if someone had heard, the young sorceress was answered almost immediately. The Star of Light shined with an unmentionable beauty the likes like of the non-Babylonians had ever seen before, almost causing them to go blind from its brilliance. The rays of light pierced the dark planets crafted by Doom, causing them to squeal and wither away into the realm of nonexistence. But perhaps the greatest gift provided was the Star of Light miraculous power that rejuvenated Queen Wave and her followers to their younger forms, granting them everlasting life once again. A roar of cheers and screams blasted not only in the chamber, but all around Babylon Garden for other worlds to hear their happiness. Storm felt grateful to have his youth back again and felt even more grateful as Angel jumped into his arms and sobbed over is shoulder, not caring if she looked like an idiot.

"Y-y-your safe." Angel said tearfully. "I-I thought I w-was going to lose my be-be-best friend."

"I'm fine." Storm said comfortingly, patting her back softly. "I'm all better now."

"Looks like Sonic and the others did their jobs right." Silver nodded proudly.

"So where are they, mate?" Marine asked, scanning the chamber.

That was quick to answer as well. The porcelain-white door to the past jumped and danced in place in the most comical manner before ripping open its hinges, expelling Tomo from beyond. The Keyblade Chameleon grumbled as she landed unceremoniously on her face, glaring at Sonic and Blaze as they walked in a nonchalant manner. The cobalt hedgehog was relieved to learn that he not only regained his regular form, but also the injury created by the Egg-Dragoon had disappeared. Time was a confusing matter. And before the Keyblade Master could register what had happened next, Marine and Angel tackled their hero to the ground and Storm picked him up to give a great big bear hug.

"Guys...losing...circulation." Sonic gasped; his face was turning purple.

"Sorry." Storm muttered apologetically.

"Well, it doesn't look like too much has change." Shahra said slowly, scanning the area carefully. "I hope the three of you didn't do anything reckless during your little...trip."

"It wasn't easy." Blaze commented; her tone seemed more directed to Tomo. "But we managed to recover the Star of Light from Black Doom and Eggman without alert anyone of who we are or where we came from."

"But the important thing is, you're safe now." Silver said softly, taking his girlfriend's hand into his own. "That's all that really matters."

The pyrokinetic feline didn't say anything and instead embraced the Babylon mystic in her arms, who was only pleased to return the gesture. But over his shoulder, Blaze held a somber expression in her eyes as she secretly stared back at Tomo and Sonic, who were looking anxiously at the floor. Sonic didn't want to ruin one of the few moments that Silver could be reunited with his true love, but the Keyblade Master felt that he had the right to know what happened. And so while the hedgehog and feline continued to hug one another, Sonic hesitantly walked over and stood behind his teacher, reaching a hand out to grab his attention. But he didn't the Sonic's hand stopped only an inch from his teacher's shoulder and quickly dropped to the side before Silver could turn around. The Keyblade Master didn't have the heart to say it.

"**It's only going to be worse when he finds out.**" Dark Sonic proclaimed sternly.

"_I know..._" Sonic replied in a dead tone. "_But I can't...I can't just do that to him. Not when he's so happy to be back home._"

"**This will end up being your gravest mistake.**" Dark Sonic stated.

The cobalt hedgehog didn't argue with that. He knew he would have to face the consequence of his actions in the future – preferably after they had defeated Black Doom and Order XIII. Thankfully enough, a distraction was provided by the Star of Light, which gave off a familiar radiance. Holding his Keyblade in front of him, Sonic's mind wandered into another dimension, where only the Star's light shined. The crystallized container emitted a beam of light into the sky and formed into the shape of a keyhole. Sonic thrusted his chosen weapon forward and unleashed the Keyblade power to strike at the Keyhole, unlocking the next gateway. The Keyblade Master's mind was sharply thrusted back into reality.

"Looks like a new path has been open." Sonic stated, suddenly rounding to the dark chameleon. "Hey, you wanna come with us? If we work together, maybe there's a chance that we could find Espio along the way."

"No thanks, I'm good." Tomo shrugged, surprising the hedgehog. "I've been on enough adventures for one lifetime and I have a feeling this won't be the last time Black Doom tries to take over the Babylon Garden. I need to stay to protect it." The Sonic Team merely shrugged in a confused manner as the Keyblade Chameleon began walking away. But before she fully departed, she stopped and called Sonic's attention. "Besides, I'm sure he can handle himself."

"Huh?" Sonic replied.

The dark chameleon rolled her eyes and walked back to the throne room. Though he didn't fully understand it, Sonic had the strangest feeling that Tomo had left him with some kind of clue. Did she any some idea as to where Espio might be hiding? Either way, Sonic couldn't figure it out for the moment and instead joined by his team's side as they addressed Queen Wave, who looked every bit as Silver and Storm had told him, including the attitude.

"Look's like we better get going, your majesty." Storm said as he bowed to the queen; Silver had to pull his apprentice along with them. "But we promise we'll find King Jet and be back before you know it."

"I'm countin' on ya." Queen Wave stated, situating her attention on the blue hedgehog. "And before I forget, the king told me to give you this in one of his letters." Sonic stared cluelessly as the royal swallow reached into her pockets and retrieved an orb of navy-blue light. "He must have thought you were coming."

"It's one of those things that those dragon people made!" Marine said excitedly. "Maybe it'll give ya a new power, mate!"

"Maybe it'll help us get closer to the king." Silver analyzed.

"Either way, we've gotta get moving." Sonic informed, waving his farewells to the Babylonians and the two sorceresses. "We'll be seeing ya guys when we kick Order XIII's asses. That's a promise."

"Do me a favor and give their leader an extra kicking for me." Wave grinned playfully.

The cobalt hedgehog covered his mouth to mask his laughter and turned on his heels towards the doorway. This has been one of his more interesting and – in his opinion – most disastrous missions the Keyblade Master had ever faced. Sonic had a feeling that taking on lack Doom and the rest of the Order would be child's play compared to telling the truth to Silver. Higher Powers be with him.

**((+)) – Babylon Garden – ((+))**

* * *

The final scene alternates to a world forgotten by the Sonic Team, thought still remembered deep within their hearts. The peaceful lives of those who lived in Soleanna were gleeful and carefree, ignorant to the dangers of the world beyond their own. Only one man fully understood the dangers and contemplated his next move while traveling through the dense forest beyond the city borders. No. XIII, The Deceptive Rogue, Terro the Bat. Ever since the incident in ZoN virtual world, the crimson bat had been careful to make sure that none of the Dusks had followed him. As far as he knew, the Order believed him to be dead. But there was only one person in the Order who knew how crafty he could truly be – they would be hunting for him again soon enough. With that thought in mind, Terro began pacing back the abandon ruins on the edge of the forest and retrieve Kumori before they were spotted. However, as he turned around to the hidden clearing, he soon found himself cut off by the last person he wanted to see at the moment.

"Still kicking I see?" ZoN said jokingly.

"What are you doing here?" Terro questioned spitefully. "How'd you find me?"

"You may be the Seeker's best stealth operative, but you're not that hard to track." ZoN informed rudely. "Either way, I have a mission that is better suited for someone like you."

"Didn't you get the memo?" Terro taunted. "I'm done working for the Seekers and Order XIII. Whatever it is, you can give it to someone like Metal or Chaos. I'm done being your little puppet."

"This mission isn't for me." ZoN informed, watching Terro step forward. "But that doesn't make it any less important. You are the only one with the cunning and ingenuity to pull off such a mission without alerting the Order of your intentions."

"Whatever." Terro scoffed, brushing past the masked woman.

"Terro, please!" ZoN pleaded; something the Deceptive Rogue had never heard before. "At the very least, you have to keep her safe! If the Order gets their hands on her, it will not only put the Seekers in danger, but also the Keyblade Master!"

The crimson bat stopped in his tracks, seemingly interested in the facts as he turned to the shrouded character. Because he couldn't look directly into her eyes, the Deceptive Rogue had no chance of telling what personal benefit came to ZoN. It was true that the Seekers would be in danger, but Terro know ZoN long enough to know that she didn't feel compassion for the organization – they were just tools. But the sudden weakness in her voice exposed a different in this mission. Terro smirked.

"So, you're not the only one at the top of the ladder, are you?" Terro said cryptically, bearing a small grin. "All right, I'll handle your little mission, but not because you asked for it. Only because I feel sorry for the guy who's really calling the shots."

* * *

**Hidden secrets and heartfelt wounds tear at the worlds. Where will their next adventure take them? Will Sonic reveal his dark deed to Silver before it's too late? And is there someone with higher influence than ZoN? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

And now it's time for everyone's favorite game show: Choose the next world!

A) Chao Garden

B) Destiny Islands

C) The Emptiness

VOTE NOW!


	31. Another Kingdom, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Another Kingdom, Part 1

The scene takes place in the Corridors of Space between worlds as the Sonic Team departed from Babylon Garden – Sonic was insistent to leave as soon as possible. The cobalt hedgehog knew he would regret not telling his teacher about the incident that went on in the past, but the fate of the worlds weighed more than his feelings. That, and the fact that Sonic was afraid of what form of torture the silver hedgehog would implement upon him. The group of five was lazily drifting through the stars in a close circle to the west of Babylon Garden's borders.

"So, anyone got any idea on where to go next?" Angel asked in a bored manner.

"I think we should head back to Hollow Bastion." Sonic suggested, whipping out a piece of parchment. "I found a page from Sonic-Chao's storybook and want to give it back to him as soon as possible. Who knows how long it will be before we find the others."

"We could also check out this nearby world." Silver offered, tinkering with his precious navigator. "I don't know much about it, but there's a grey world called 'The Emptiness'. Sounds kinda depressing."

"Aw, do we have to go on another mission, mate?" Marine whined openly, lying forward on her Gear. "We just went through a lifetime of ripper adventures and I'm getting tired. Can't we take a vacation, mate?"

"No, we can't." Silver said sternly. "The fate of all worlds rests in our hands. We don't have the luxury of a vacation."

"I have to agree with Silver on this one." Sonic nodded, thoroughly shocking the Babylon mystic.

"**You don't actually agree with him.**" Dark Sonic commented dryly. "**You just want to make sure you stay on his good side until you break the news to him.**"

"_Hey, I don't really feel like having my neck snapped like a twig!_" Sonic snapped heatedly.

"**For someone chosen by the Keyblade, you are a true coward.**" Dark Sonic commented; Sonic contented himself to growl.

"That's no fair!" Marine complained. "We do all this stuff for the other mates! Why can't we have time for ourselves?"

"With people like Black Doom and Order XIII still around, we can't afford to waste anymore time." Sonic explained carefully. Marine pouted, but the cobalt hedgehog threw a hand over her shoulder. "Hey, here's an idea. After this whole mess is over, why don't I invite you to stay with us at Destiny Islands. Every day will be a trip to the beach."

"Bonza!" Marine cheered as she pumped her fist, accidentally strike Sonic's chin. "That would be a ripper, mate!"

"Great." Sonic muttered, stroking his sore jaw. "With that out of the way, has anyone decided where we're going yet?"

"What about that big swirly thing?" Storm asked cluelessly.

Questionable expressions arose between the other four members of the Sonic Team and forced them to follow the albatross's line of sight. Without realizing it, the five heroes had been unconsciously drifting into the mouth of a massive mass of black particles ripped from the universe a formed a swirling portal large enough to carry a single world.

"Storm, that's a wormhole." Silver rolled his eyes.

"What's a wormhole?" Storm asked confused.

"A wormhole is generally referred to as a rift between in the time-space continuum." Silver explained thoroughly; Marine lost focus from that point. "The effects of a wormhole are not regularly defined, but there have been some cases when traversing wormhole leads to time travel and instantaneous warping to other worlds. But more often, wormholes lead to an instant death."

"Oh..." Storm hummed. It was several second before his eyes were wide in horror. "Say what?"

"**Caught on, have ya?**" Dark Sonic laughed, knowing the albatross couldn't hear him.

Once realization finally washed over them, the Sonic Team instantly turned tail and tried to escape the mouth of the lethal vortex – Marine and Storm even tried paddling to safety. But the group of five heroes were already too deep into the wormhole and were inevitably such into the depths of darkness.

* * *

"Ugh...what happened last night?" Sonic mumbled.

"**Stop talking.**" Dark Sonic said tiredly. "**It hurts when you do that.**"

The cobalt hedgehog felt exhausted beyond any physical comprehension – his head was pounding away like a drum. But the fact that he was feeling this overzealous migraine at least proved that he wasn't going to see Broly any time soon. Although, the heavy weight on his spine might be able to do the job. Using all his strength, the Keyblade Master pushed himself up and flung away the tangle of bodies that was previously crushing him. The Sonic Team moaned and whined at the forced movement between them, but still felt sweet relief to be alive. It was night time in the area where they landed, which only assisted in exhausting the remainder of the team. Marine was the first to sit properly, rubbing her eyes free from the tiredness she felt.

"Where are we, mate?" Marine mumbled sleepily.

"It looks like we're on some kind of beach." Angel commented, stretching her limbs.

"A beach?" Sonic repeated interestingly.

The sudden feel of the sand and the soothing laps of the water seemed all too familiar to the cobalt Keyblade Master. It was too much of a coincidence. Sonic first pushed himself into a kneeling position – he was still exhausted by the sudden special travel – and pushed himself until he could stand and see clearly around him. Angel was right about one thing: they were on a beach. But this wasn't just any beach. A set of ports were seen from a distance, harboring ships large and small for a number of occasions. A small town was nestled close to the shore with small, modest housing, a few trees and lampposts in the background, and a clay path that led over the hillside towards the other end of the region. But when Sonic turned around and stared out to sea, his unbelievable theory was proven to be true. Only three miles off the coastline of the mainland was the leafy jungle island that Sonic, Espio, and Amy would play everyday – the island where he learned his destiny.

"Guys..." Sonic gapped. "I think I'm home."

* * *

**=(x)= Destiny Islands** **=(x)=**

"Are you sure, Sonic?" Storm asked curiously. The Sonic Team had only seen Destiny Islands once before and that was during the final battle against Mephiles – Marine's scars tingled at the thought. "This place kinda reminds me of your island, but how can you be sure?"

"I grew up here!" Sonic laughed jubilantly, falling backwards into the sand. "I would always come to the beach with my Uncle Chuck whenever we had the chance! He would always watch me play in the surf, or build sandcastles with me, and sometime he would even teach me about the animals in the sea like dolphins or sharks!"

"You have sharks?" Marine exclaimed; her eyes shined hopefully.

"We need new friends." Angel mumbled to Storm, who nodded.

"I did say that wormhole was capable of instantaneous travel." Silver said interestingly as he stared at the night sky. "I guess it was just pure luck that we somehow managed to fall back into the islands."

"Hey, that reminds me." Storm commented openly. "Isn't Amy supposed to be on the islands, too."

"Oh man, I can't believe I forgot!" Sonic screamed surprisingly. In all the excitement between him and Blaze, Sonic had momentarily forgotten the one girl who originally stole his heart – he felt ashamed. "I really screwed up big time by not remembering her. I know she is the understanding type, but how will she understand that I completely forgot about her?"

"Don't worry, Sonic." Silver said, placing an encouraging hand on his shoulder. "Just tell her what's been going on and I'm sure she'll listen."

"**Yeah, I'm sure she would love to hear it.**" Dark Sonic commented sarcastically. "**I'm sure should wouldn't mind listening to how you ending up making out with your best friend's girl and breaking her heart.**"

"_You're not helping!_" Sonic exclaimed spitefully.

"**Not trying to.**" Dark Sonic shrugged.

Fortunately enough, the Keyblade Master was pulled away from his thoughts just before he caused a scenic outburst. A plague of terrified screams echoed one after another from the small village, shortly followed by plumes of black smokes. Someone was attacking the island.

"Why does this not surprise me in the least." Silver said dully.

"I was expecting a welcome home party." Sonic said disappointingly, kicking back to his feet. "But at the very least, I'm fighting on my home turf." He summoned the Keyblade, lazily resting it on his shoulder. "Well, let's get back to work."

"Aw, we didn't get a chance to finish our sand castle." Angel whined.

The so-called 'sand castle' built by Angel and Marine stood fifty stories high and seemed to be able to hold Storm's weigh, who was standing on the sandy balcony. Sonic and Silver glanced unusually at one another – where did they find these guys?

* * *

Meanwhile, the scene alternates to the other end of island closer towards the scattered forests and small mountain range in the background of the village. Once again, Eggman had taken it upon himself to become another obstacle in Sonic's path, but he seemed more preoccupied with the Heartless snarling hungrily. But it was difficult to tell if the creatures were even Heartless. They appeared to he tall, hairless humanoids with deathly-white skin, unhinged jaws, and unnaturally long nails that seemed perfect for digging into the skin of their victims. Their only form of attire was the dirty-brown loincloths around their waists and the chained necklaces with the Heartless Emblem pressed against their chests. The unsightly creatures were ravenous and seemed to find the plump Babylonian scientist as a full-course meal.

"Back! Back, I say!" Eggman yelled, punching the face of the nearest one. "What sort of freaks are you?"

"Do you like them." A cold and cunning voice called. "I have been experiment with them for a while."

The pale demons hissed and trotted backwards at the tone of the voice, scuttling backwards to the shade of the trees. Eggman sighed in sweet relief and turned to his newest ally. A tanned, well-built young man around his early twenties with unnaturally silver hair that reached to the base of his neck with an interesting style. His attire consisted of a black, sleeveless vest that reached past his waist, a black-leather belt, black pants closed around the ankles, black armbands around his wrists, and pair of black boots that could closely relate to the ones worn by Order XIII. The master of the dark swarm stared between his animalistic servants and the Babylonian traitor.

**(For those who haven't figured it out, I am using the younger version of Master Xehanort.)**

"What are those blasted freaks, Xehanort?" Eggman questioned defensively

"These 'freaks', as you call them are part of a personal experiment." Xehanort said casually. "During my time with Ansem the Wise, I have been secretly planning a way to fuse Heartless essence with human DNA." He waved to the pale atrocities. "These...Darkseekers...are the failed results of process. I have yet to perfect the proper sequence, but they have proven to be useful from time to time."

"Just make sure they keep away from me." Eggman said disgustedly. "And moreover, beware of that hedgehog menace. If I know that meddling rodent, not even a separate dimension will be able to keep him away."

"Your concern is touching, but hardly necessary." Xehanort said mockingly, glaring at the Darkseekers that dared to approach him. "The only one I need to worry about is Sora. He has proven a greater hindrance than any Keyblade Master I have ever known."

"Don't I know it." Eggman shook his head.

"Eggman!" Drawn by curiosity, the two dark users looked to the right as Sonic and his team trooped over the hillside; their weapons already drawn. "Why is it that everywhere I go, I have to see your ugly mug."

"I feel the same way, rodent." Eggman sneered.

"This is the meddlesome blue hedgehog that has been giving you so much trouble." Xehanort said collectively; his tone was somewhat humorous. "But then again, I never underestimate an opponent. Especially one with the heart strong enough to wield the Keyblade."

"You gonna give up?" Angel asked hopefully.

"Not likely." Xehanort smirked.

"Figured as much." Storm moaned.

Instead of confronting the Keyblade Master and his friends, the dark master turned on his heels and casually walked away from the scene with Eggman at his heels. Sonic was outraged at how lightly Xehanort took him and griped the hilt of the Keyblade with both hands before jumping forward. He had almost made it to the silver-haired master until he was suddenly tackled in midair and landed on the clay path with a heavy thud. One of the Darkseekers had separated itself from the pack and grappled both of the hedgehog's arms to pin him firmly on the ground. This was the first time Sonic saw one of them up close. The Darkseeker's face was waxy and lost all color to it skin, a row of serrated teeth filled its mouth, and the pathways of veins were clearly visible beneath its thick skin. If it wasn't for the fact that his life was in danger, the cobalt hedgehog would have been repulsed by itself appearance. The Darkseeker hissed in an inhumane tone and lunged its mouth forward with his teeth pointed for the hedgehog's throat. But acting upon instinct, Sonic swiped his foot upwards and slammed his toes against the Darkseeker's chin before it could finish, throwing the pale demon away. Once he was safe, Sonic kicked up back to his feet and panted heavily, holding his rapidly beating heart.

"_What was that thing?_" Sonic thought wildly.

"**It looked human, but I could feel Heartless darkness inside.**" Dark Sonic answered confusingly. "**Can't tell if its half Heartless or some genetic freak of nature. Whatever the case is, it has the savage mind of a Heartless.**"

"_Whatever that thing is, it's fast._" Sonic stated cautiously. "_I was using the Keychain at the time and going at supersonic speed when it attacked me. It's amazing that they could even see me._"

"**Be careful.**" Dark Sonic forewarned. "**I don't think these will be like any Heartless you have faced so far.**"

Sonic didn't need to be told twice. The Darkseeker that he kicked away took only a short moment to regain its senses and dropped on all-fours like a savage wolf. A menacingly snarled could be heard from the pale demon's throat. Meanwhile, Angel was showing no signs of Conner or worry against the unholy products of science. This may account to the fact that the pink siren was similar to them – an experiment for someone who wanted to play God. The only difference between them was that her creator had given her a sensible mind. The pink experiment ducked under the claw of the Darkseeker that swiped at her and then used her antenna to constrict the pale demon's wrist. So while her prisoner struggled to break the grip on its arm, Angel flipped backwards over the second Darkseeker diving from behind. The two pale demons collided with one another and the pink experiment pulled back her antenna to throw both half-Heartless to the ground. And before either of them could get up, Angel performed a graceful flip and landed on the back of the Darkseeker on top, withdrawing the daggers from her belt. The pink experiment felt no regret as she stabbed the silver dagger through the first demon's spine and into the second Darkseeker's chest – they had no humanity left in them.

"Kinda pitiful." Angel said blandly, taking back her weapon. "I was expecting something better than this."

However, her wish came true as the duo Darkseekers shuddered violently and threw off the pink experiment. Angel tumbled for a short moment and regained her footing as she skidded across the ground. Both pale demons that she had believed to be dead were staggering to their feet – the waterfalls of blood from their open wounds did not disturb them.

"Are you kidding me?" Angel exclaimed.

There the pink experiment was left to ponder this anomaly, Storm and Silver were working back-to-back against four Darkseekers circling them. For every approaching half-Heartless, the duo would turn in full circle until Storm was faced against the Darkseeker, using his shield for defensive purposes. The pale demon would first run smack into the seal of the round shield, leaving the beast daze, before being snapped at the neck by its round base. And while the large albatross handled the matters of defense, Silver twisted the staff cautiously in his hand, contemplating which spell would be more prudent. The scuttling half-Heartless were circling around on all-fours like prowling jackals – their lips moist with insatiable hunger. Since the element was most abundant in the environment, Silver gripped the rod of his staff with both hands and slammed the dragon head into the ground. The actions created a fissure that formed a perfect circle around the Babylonian duo, dropping the savage Darkseekers into the depths below. And when raising the staff close to his chest, the fissure closed itself with a loud crack.

"Well, that wasn't so hard." Storm commented happily.

"That's what makes me worried." Silver said cautiously.

His concern was well placed as pale-white hands erupted from the deep soil, grabbing everything within their reach. Probably having the worst time amongst the group, Marine was ducking and dodging the Darkseekers at every available turn. At the first sight of the pale demons, the rascally raccoon had lost all swagger in her step and wanted to get as far away from the Half-Heartless as possible. She was capable of handling monsters like Neoshadows or Darksides, but they always seemed more comical than menacing to the young raccoon. Marine had once bravely tried to fight back against him, but quickly discovered that her powers were inactive at the time. Shahra did say that her powers were tied to her emotions and right now she was so scared that she literally wet herself – Marine inwardly hoped that no one noticed. The rascally raccoon was running up the hillside at top pacing, looking back at the two Darkseekers chasing her without realizing that she was walking straight into the arms of another. The single pale demon that stood at the peak of the hill reached out and snatched Marine by both arms and lifted her off the ground. The rascally raccoon was now openly crying when the Darkseeker lifted its newest victim closer to its face, staring with empty black eyes. The snarling beast grew irritable to Marine's weeping and growled with its inhumane shrill and exposed its teeth pressed close to the raccoon's shoulder. But the pale demon could never enjoy its new meal before his head literally rolled off its shoulder. Marine was lifted out of the Darkseekers arms before the demonic corpse fell forward onto the ground, finding herself securely in her surrogate brother's arms.

"Are you ok?" Sonic asked softly, patting the sobbing child's back soothingly. "You're not hurt, are ya?"

"It was so scary!" Marine cried, burying her face into his shoulder. "I don't like it here!"

"I promise I'll make this all go away." Sonic said kindly, caressing her hair softly. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

"**I may be a Heartless, but even I find this unforgivable.**" Dark Sonic growled malevolently. "**She's only an eight year-old girl. She shouldn't have to deal with things like this.**"

"_Don't worry, I'm going to make them regret everything._" Sonic replied angrily. Once calming down his surrogate sibling, he gently placed Marine back on the ground and faced the swarm of Darkseekers. "You all think your so tough by scaring a defenseless little girls? Well, I'll show you what happens when you attack the people I love! Storm, can you hear me?"

"Right here!" Storm called between Angel and Silver.

"It's time for a little double team!" Sonic shouted aggressively.

The hulking albatross was unused to the violent temper that Sonic harbored, but as Captain of the Guard of Babylon Garden, he was start enough to realize this advantage. So while the pink experiment and Babylonian mystic fought on either side, Storm replaced the round shield on his back and readied himself for the process. The cobalt hedgehog raised his hands as the Darkseekers charged like the savage beasts they were and slapped it over his heart. In that instant, the Drive Form became active and Storm faded into a mist of crimson energy. Sonic opened himself freely as the vibrant-red mist motioned past the Darkseekers and devoured his form, exploding in a ray of red light. Though the heroes didn't take notice, the pale demons hissed painfully at the light and skin started burning slightly. When the light died down, Valor Sonic stood with the Kingdom Key resting on his shoulders with the Star Seeker stretched across his chest – hatred burned openly in the hedgehog crimson-red eyes.

"Bring it on, bitch!" Sonic exclaimed.

The leader of the half-Heartless pack turned around past it other followers and unleashed an echoing growl that traveled across the forest. All of the sudden, the Darkseekers that were attacking Silver and Angel led to follow the source of the command. The leader of the pack panted heavily when the remaining followers formed rows behind it – an army waiting to devour the Keyblade Master. But despite the sheer numbers, Sonic's nerves remained untouched as he thoughts were only on protecting the little girl clinging to his legs. If scare tactics didn't work, then force would. The pack leader roared insanely and charged forward on all-fours with the rest of its brethren following in step. The bright-red hedgehog could feel the ground quaking below his feet from the number of half-heartless attacking simultaneously and reassured himself by tightening his grip. This proved to be a profitable action. Valor Sonic was suddenly drawn by a strange glow radiating from the keychain of his Star Seeker Keyblade before his curiosity was attracted by a flock of frightened screams. By some unknown force, the Darkseekers were lifted off the ground and were now flailing in the air.

"Uh...someone mind explaining this?" Valor Sonic blinked with confusion.

"It's your keychain ability." Silver said awestruck. "The Keyblade Master Nyrox gave you must allow you to manipulate the forces of gravitational forces of the world."

"He can control gravity now!" Angel exclaimed outrageously. "Now that's just not fair!"

"I can control gravity, huh?" Valor Sonic murmured, staring at the Star Seeker. "I wonder..." The crimson hedgehog pushed away Marine gently and focused his thoughts into the Keyblade. Thoughts become power. So when the Keyblade Master opened his eyes, imagine the surprise when he found himself hovering feet above the ground. "Ok, now this is awesome!"

"He can fly now?" Angel said aghast, watching the hedgehog twirl in the air. "That's it, I'm calling my lawyer."

"This has to be the best thing ever." Valor Sonic smirked, turning his gaze to the helpless Darkseekers. "Too bad you can't say the same thing."

The Darkseekers were incapable to moving without having something to hold on to, leaving them at the Keyblade Master's mercy. But Valor Sonic had none. The crimson hedgehog flew between the first initial drones of the pale demon swarm, decapitating two of them with a simple swipe from both sides. Valor Sonic's abilities proved to be greatest in the air as he drifted between the Darkseekers, flawlessly twisting and turning to eliminate them in one strike. Some of the hapless demons felt obligated to defend themselves by swiping at the Keyblade Master whenever he made his approach. However, Valor Sonic would always drift out of their reach and watch them amusingly before severing the useless arms. It only took two minutes before Valor Sonic had reached to the last of the half-Heartless – the same one that scared Marine. The crimson hedgehog drifted close with pure hatred radiating in his eyes, watching at the pitiful display before him. Without his pack to protect him, the Darkseeker tried flailing backwards away from the twin-bladed warrior out of agonizing fear. Valor Sonic felt satisfied as he plunged the Star Seeker into the depths of its skull – no one shall harm his friends again. With the task carried out, the crimson hedgehog released the power of the Star Seeker Keyblade and landed gracefully on the ground as the mutilated corpses rained around him. When the Drive Form dispersed and Storm returned to his side, Sonic dropped down to his hands and knees, unconsciously vanishing the Kingdom Key from his hand.

"Are you all right, mate?" Marine asked worried, hugging her surrogate brother.

"I've...been...better." Sonic panted heavily. "Man, I don't think I've ever felt this time whenever we transform."

"You let your anger get the best of you." Silver scolded, assisting the hedgehog back to his feet. "You're distracted by your rage that you used up more energy than you were supposed to."

"That freak scared Marine." Sonic answered in a justified manner. "There was no way I was going to let that stand."

"We understand that." Angel stated, her arms crossed in annoyance. "But next time, could you be a little more controlled."

"I guess I could..."

"Let me go!" A feminine voice yelled. "Let me go!"

The group of heroic animals snapped their focus to the trees, ducking away just in time to avoid a group of Neoshadows stampeding by. Sonic tucked and rolled until he was back on his feet before noticing that the leading Neoshadow was carrying someone on its shoulder. It was a human teenage girl with dark-red hair wearing a hooded pink strapless mini-dress made up with three zippers, a white halter top underneath, a black belt, lilac shoes, and a small opal necklace. The Neoshadows didn't seem interested in devouring the young girl, but instead carried her up the hillside.

"Did the Heartless just kidnap a girl?" Storm asked strangely. "That doesn't seem like them."

"Maybe there's something special about the girl." Sonic commented.

"Kairi!"

The Sonic Team looked back into the forest and was nearly bowled over again. This time, it was by a teenaged boy with spiky brown hair wearing a black/silver jacket over a navy-blue/red shirt, baggy black pant with intersecting yellow belts, large yellow/black shoes, and a crown necklace similar to Sonic's. The pack of Neoshadows halted momentarily before the leader of the group continued down the trail while the remaining three stayed behind. The teenaged boy skidded to a halt as the powerful shadows crawled carefully towards the brunette.

"Ugh! I don't have time for this!" The boy said impatiently. "I need to help Kairi!"

"But watch your step, kid." The spiky-haired teen stepped back as the Sonic Team suddenly jumped in front. "We'll handle it from here."

"Who are you guys supposed to be?" The teen questioned.

"We're the guys savin' the day." Angel winked. "Now be a good kid and run along before you..."

But before the pink experiment could finish her self-esteemed comical comment, the closest Neoshadow lunged from it newest prey. Sonic had his hand ready to summon the Kingdom Key at a moment's notice, but soon found it unnecessary. The spiky-haired teen suddenly pushed the pink experiment aside and swiped his hand across the air, amazingly slashing the Neoshadow in two. Sonic gapped shockingly when he saw the spiky-haired boy wielding the Kingdom Keyblade – his Keyblade. The unknown Keyblade Master turned on his left heel and slashed horizontally at the second Neoshadow before kicking away the last one. The Teenaged warrior didn't bother attacking the last of the Heartless and instead watched it scurry back to the darkness with its figurative tail between its legs. With a cocky grin on his face, the newest Keyblade warrior turned to the Sonic Team, resting the Kingdom Key on his shoulder.

"Who's savin' the day again?" The teen smirked.

"Where did you get that?" Sonic said shockingly, referring to the Kingdom Key.

"You mean this?" The teen questioned, holding out his chosen weapon. "It's called the Keyblade. It chose me to defend the worlds from monsters like the Heartless."

"No, the Keyblade chose me to defend the world." Sonic stated firmly. "That Keyblade to be exact."

"No way, really?" The teen exclaimed shockingly. To prove his point, the cobalt hedgehog summoned the Kingdom Key and cross his blade with the boy's. "Ok, this is getting too weird."

"Silver, how can there be two of the same Keyblade?" Storm questioned cluelessly.

"I don't think there can be." Silver muttered, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Unless..."

"Unless what, mate?" Marine asked curiously.

"Remember that wormhole we went through to get here?" Silver questioned; the group nodded. "Well, we originally though that it brought us back to the islands and it did, just not Sonic's islands." He took a swift look around the area. "I think we've traveled to a dimension relatively similar to our own with a few minor differences."

"Is that possible?" Angel blinked shockingly.

"How long have we been doing this?" Silver asked sarcastically.

"**Parallel dimensions.**" Dark Sonic commented. "**This is weird, even by my standards.**"

"_The only downside is that it's not my island._" Sonic thought sadly. "_I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever see Amy, Uncle Chuck, or my home ever again._"

"**You can't give up already.**" Dark Sonic scowled. "**Remember, the woman you love is waiting for you to return home. And in case you forgot, it's not Blaze.**"

"_Will you let that go?_" Sonic screamed.

So, you're my other dimensional double, eh?" The teenaged boy said playfully, snapping Sonic out of his thoughts. "I never thought I'd say this, but I look good as a hedgehog." He held his hand out for Sonic to take. "By the way, name's Sora."

"Sonic the hedgehog." Sonic responded, shaking the teen's hand. "This is Silver, Angel, Storm, and Marine. So, if you're a Keyblade Master, does that mean you know anything about that guy with the silver hair?"

"His name is Xehanort." Sora said with distaste. "He's been causing a lot of trouble for years and I've been fighting him from the beginning. Last time I saw him, I was fighting his Heartless when..." All of sudden, his eyes were wide with terror. "Oh no! He took Kairi!"

"I think he was headed for the beach, mate." Marine said, pointing over the hillside.

"He's headed for the play island." Sora proclaimed, rushing past the heroes. "I think we can catch up to him."

The Sonic Team didn't need to be told twice. If this Xehanort character was anything like Mephiles, he wasn't an opponent they needed to take lightly, especially if he's working alongside Black Doom. The group of six managed to make it to the beach without much difficulty – the Heartless had long vanished from the island. The duo Keyblade Master and their friends stopped at the boating dock, gazing out to the undisturbed island off the coast.

"There it is." Sora sighed in relief, point out to the distant land. "Now all we need to do is paddle out and save Kairi."

Just then, a massive dome of pure darkness covered the secondary island and vanished without a trace, taking the island along with it – Sora hand fell limp at his side.

"So..." Angel said awkwardly. "What's plan B?"

"You could always stick to the original plan." The heroes looked between each other confused until they realize that the voice originated from the large sailing ship to their left. "You'll just have to go a longer distance. Xehanort used the Heartless to float the island further into the ocean and a little dingy won't get you out there. That's why I'm prepping up the boat."

"You can take the mayor's ship!" Sora shouted worriedly, walking to the gangplank. "That's stealing!"

"I prefer to think of it as borrowing without asking." The voice replied jokingly. "Besides, it's for a good cause. I'm sure the mayor wouldn't mind if we used it to save his daughter."

"I suppose that makes sense." Sonic nodded, following Sora up the walkway. "Just who are you, anyway?"

It seemed that the unknown character had been waiting for someone to ask the question as he jumped onto the side of the ship, using the netting to keep himself balanced. It was another teenaged boy about a year older than Sora with wavy-silver hair that reached past his shoulder and partially covered his eyes. His attire consisted of a black zip-up tank-top, a white/yellow vest, a pant of simple navy-blue jeans, a white band over his left hand, and a pair of white sneakers. Sonic did notice that while the teen's right arm was firm and strong, his left arm was hanging at a limp – he must have been critically injured from a previous battle.

"Just call me Captain Riku." Riku smirked superiorly.

"Bonza, another captain!" Marine cheered giddily. "Ahoy, I'm Captain Marine."

"You're not a captain Marine." Silver rolled his eyes; Marine pouted.

"Hey, Sora, who are your furry little friends?" Riku asked as he jumped back on firm ground, watching the crew step onboard the ship. "They might be good replacements for Donald and Goofy."

"Haha." Sora said mockingly. "These are my new friends: Sonic, Silver, Angel, Marine, and Storm." He smiled proudly and leaned against the railing with a smug expression. "I don't think Xehanort's gonna stand a chance now that we've got another Keyblade Master on the team."

"Another?" Riku repeated curiously.

"That blue hedgehog, Sonic, is a Keyblade Master like me." Sora informed.

"Really?" Riku said interestingly, scanning the hedgehog for a few short moments. "Hey, Sonic, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure." Sonic shrugged. The silver-haired teen and cobalt hedgehog stepped over to the other end of the ship while the rest of their team went to work to make get the ship working. "So what's up?"

"What exactly do you know about this Xehanort guy?" Riku asked oddly.

"Nothing, really." Sonic shrugged. "We've only just met him."

"That's all I wanted to know." Riku nodded, earning a curious glance from the hedgehog. The silver-haired teen waited until the Keyblade Master was out of sight before allowing himself to smile. "Looks like my luck's about to change."

* * *

**A traveler's tale of unnatural proportion. Why was the Sonic Team brought to this alternate universe? Will the heroes be strong enough to take on the combined power of Xehanort and Eggman? And what is the meaning behind Riku's words? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

I have been given the honorable task to place a recommendation on the stories of one of my friends, Blue Kaous. In the time that I have known him, his stories have been proven to be very detailed and dramatic in comparison to my own. So if you have the time, please be willing to give him a chance.

Now I need to go touch my llama.


	32. Another Kingdom, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Thirty: Another Kingdom, Part 2

The scene opens to the secondary island drifting steady out into the open ocean, fueled by the darkness of the Heartless. The island was just the same as the one Sonic, Espio, and Amy would spend their time playing throughout their childhood. The salty sea lapped against the grains of sand, the never-ending waterfall splashed into the pool below, a large wooden fort and cabin stood on either end of the beach, and a small wooden bridge connected to the smaller island just off the shore. Under normal conditions, this would have been the perfect place to sleep the day away. But this was far from normal. The red-headed girl – Kairi – was sitting cross-legged in the circle of Neoshadows that guarded her every movement. The young teen knew they wouldn't attack without their master's permission and merely waited it out. Her attention shot up at the sound of grinding footsteps in the sand, finding Xehanort walking between his shadowy minions – his threatening figure silhouetted against the light of the full moon.

"Are you enjoying your stay, princess?" Xehanort questioned casually.

"It's not exactly a five-star resort." Kairi replied suspiciously; Xehanort chuckled lightly. "What do you want with Xehanort? What are you after?"

"How long have we known each other?" Xehanort asked with a smirk. "Two years now? The three of you have thwarted my previous attempts towards completing my goals and you wonder what I want."

"Kingdom Hearts!" Kairi exclaimed. "Now I get it! You captured me so that you could capture the seven princesses and open the Door to Darkness again!"

"Sora and the King have already sealed the Door to Darkness." Xehanort shrugged, turning his attention to the ocean. "Once the door is closed by the power of the two Keyblades, there is nothing that can open the gateway again." The red-headed girl opened her mouth to speak, but Xehanort cut her off. "And I have no intention of tricking the Keyblade Master into destroying the Heartless and collecting the hearts left behind. Sora already knows the difference between Pure Bloods and artificial Heartless – he won't fall for the same trick twice."

"Then what are you after?" Kairi said cluelessly.

"In my life, there has only been one time I came close to taking Kingdom Hearts for myself." Xehanort explained, turning away from the girl with his hand behind his back. "But if the Keyblade Master and her...friends...hadn't interfered, all the power in the worlds would have been mine."

"I don't understand." Kairi murmured.

"Many legends that exist speak of the Keyblade's origin." Xehanort stated seriously. "Each one more absurd than the last – no one knows the true secret behind their creation. But in all the legends, one fact remains true." He returned his gaze to the Princess of Heart. "While the Keyblades existed to join Kingdom Hearts, one existed alongside Kingdom Hearts. This weapon was roughly named the X-Blade and falsely took the shape of the Keyblades. With the X-Blade, one could open Kingdom Hearts of his own freewill – the ultimate key for the ultimate door."

"But what does this have to do with me?" Kairi asked worriedly.

"My dear princess..." Xehanort said, kneeling down and grabbing the girl's chin, forcing her to gaze into his eyes. "This has nothing to do with you at all." Angered by his calm attitude, Kairi slapped his hand away. "Like in the old fairytales, a knight always comes to rescue his princess."

That was all that the red-headed teen needed to know to understand Xehanort's motives. She was to be used as bait and Sora was the one taking it.

* * *

The scene alternates further out to sea halfway between the new position of the secondary island and the mainland. After agreeing to "borrow" the mayor's prized sailing ship, the Sonic Team set off with two new companions for the journey: Sora and Riku. While it seemed rather awkward for Sonic to meet his dimensional counterpart, there was no denying that a second Keyblade Master would come in handy. And if even half the stories Sora told them were true, Riku's addition to the team would make them a force to be reckoned with. At the present time, the newly formed group of seven were scattered around the ship, doing their own activity. Riku was steering the ship at the helm and Sora was staring out to see with a worried look, Silver was trying to figure out how they arrived in another dimension, Sonic decided it was time to test out his newest keychain and was practicing with the new Keyblade, and Angel and Storm were indulged in a new game called Liar Dice. As for Marine...

"Attention, ye scurvy dogs!" Marine shouted from the helm, much to Riku's annoyance. Somehow, the eccentric raccoon had obtains a dirty-black coat, an eye patch for her scarred eye, and an old fashion pirate hat. "Now not the time for a snooze! Swab the poop deck, man the stern, hoist the anchor, and thrust the jib!"

"What are you talking about?" Silver sighed exasperatedly, setting down his navigational charts.

"I'm the captain, mate!" Marine laughed merrily, jumping on the railing. "And as captain of the ship, it's my job to give the orders on my ship."

"Ok, three things." Riku said, leaning against the steering wheel. "One, you aren't the captain. Two, this isn't your ship. And three, where's you get the outfit?"

"I found it in a closet downstairs." Marine answered, taking a seat on the edge of the ship. "There's a trunk full of cool pirate costumes and a couple of photos of the mayor wearing them."

"That's more than we needed to know." Angel shuddered before returning to the game. "I call five sixes."

"Lair!" Storm shouted; Angel groaned in defeat.

"So how do you plan to find Xehanort and the island?" Sonic asked when coming up to the teen. "It's not like they're going to wave a big sign around saying 'we're here, come get us'."

"**I don't think they're going to fall for that twice.**" Dark Sonic commented. "**Well...not normally.**"

"_I still can't believe the Heartless actually made of sign while we were in Metropolis._" Sonic replied humorously. "_And we only had to spend an hour on that world – easiest mission ever._"

"**Though I still feel a little awkward about that guy in the underwear.**" Dark Sonic moaned. "**I mean, he wears a big 'S' on his chest and wears his underwear outside. What kind of sensible person does that?**"

"_At least he found the Keyhole by breaking down that street._" Sonic shrugged.

"Truthfully, I don't know how we're going to find them." Riku answered, snapping Sonic back to reality.

"Say wha?" Sora exclaimed. The spiky haired hero dashed over to the helm, shoved his counterpart to one side, and grabbed his best friend by his jacket. "What do you mean you don't know? I thought you could track Xehanort's darkness anywhere! And now you're saying you don't have a clue where to look?"

"I could have tracked Xehanort before, but not now." Riku said calmly, prying his friend's hands away. "You remember when we were fighting the Organization and Ansem used the Encoder to release the hearts they captured?" Sora nodded, leaving the Sonic Team clueless. "Then you probably remember what happened when Ansem's machine failed and imploded."

"It's kinda hard to forget." Sora murmured sadly. "He was only trying to help the best way he could." Then completely out of nowhere, the spiky-haired teen grinned with his hands behind his head. "But hey, at least it was able to save you from the darkness."

"And that's the problem." Riku said solemnly, returning his attention to the wheel. "After the Encoder imploded, I thought it set me free from only Xehanort's darkness. But after a few days, I began to notice that my own darkness was getting gradually weaker until I couldn't use it anymore."

"**I thought there was something unusual about him.**" Dark Sonic said suspiciously.

"_Think he's working for Xehanort?_" Sonic questioned.

"**Hard to tell.**" Dark Sonic responded. "**We'll have to wait and see.**"

"And losing your darkness is a bad thing?"Storm asked confused.

"For me it is." Riku nodded sternly. "My power comes from the balance of light and darkness inside my heart. Without the darkness to level the light within me, my power isn't as great as it used to be. And worst off, I can't summon the Keyblade anymore."

"You're a Keyblade Master?" Silver exclaimed, sending his charts flying from the shock.

"I wouldn't say master, but I have a decent handling of it." Riku said mournfully. "Or at least, I used to. I don't know how much help I can be against Xehanort in my present state."

"Aw, I'm sure you'll think of something." Sora assured.

"I'm gonna have to with this group of meatheads." Riku said jokingly.

"Hey!" The Sonic Team screamed.

But while Silver and the others scolded the teenaged warrior, Sonic and Sora found the offhanded comment to be rather humorous – great minds think alike. Everything went back to normal for the next twenty minutes with nothing out of the ordinary occurring. However, the Keyblade Master and his Heartless counterpart couldn't help noticing something unusual about their journey that no one else seemed to catch. Despite Riku's earlier mention that he didn't know where Xehanort was hiding, the silver-haired teen seemed to be steering the ship in a specific direction instead of circling around. Something wasn't right. The cobalt hedgehog contented himself to sitting in the back of the stern, keeping a close eye of the former dark user. It wasn't until six minutes later that something interesting occurred.

"Land ho!" Storm yelled from the bow, pointing out to the sea. "I always wanted to say that."

With the exception of Riku, the crew cluttered together on either side of Storm – Angel climbed on her best friend's head for a better view. The secondary land mass of Destiny Island was less that fifty feet away from their position and judging by their position, they were docking in the cove. Sonic suspected that the silver-haired teen was purposely harboring the ship in the back of the island to give them the element of surprise. Everything was just as the Keyblade Master remembered it from the day when he and Espio raced, despite the whole ordeal being an elaborate joke. The wooden tower and zipline towered over the leafy palm trees, the shambled wooden bridge was barely stable, and the cave to the other side of the island was visible above.

"_This is where me, Espio, and Amy were building the raft._" Sonic thought with a hint of nostalgia. "_I wonder if Amy ever finished it._"

"**Even if she did, I don't think it would work.**" Dark Sonic stated deadpanned. "**What in your – well, I can't say right – mind would make you believe that a tiny wooden raft could transport you to other worlds?**"

"_We were young and hopeful back then._" Sonic excused, resting his head against the railing. "_It's kinda funny when I think about it. Here I am on an exact duplicate of my home island and I'm feeling home sick._"

"**A home is meaningless without the people you love.**" Dark Sonic said wisely.

"_Whoa, when did you get deep?_" Sonic asked jokingly.

"**When are you going to tell Silver?**" Dark Sonic countered.

"_Let it go already!_" Sonic screamed.

"Alright, you guys stay here." The cobalt hedgehog snapped out of his stupor, finding Sora and Riku stepping off the gangplank. "Sora and I are gonna head towards the front of the island and see if we can catch Xehanort by surprise."

"Hey, what about us?" Marine whined.

"You're going to guard the ship, of course." Sora said apologetically. "Nothing personal, but me and Riku work best together when it's just the two of us. And besides, Xehanort is the equivalent to the Mephiles guy you were talking about earlier. You know he's going to be strong."

"Then wouldn't it be wise to work together?" Silver noted. "After all, there is strength in numbers."

"Look, we've been fighting Xehanort longer than you've been working together." Riku added harshly, causing the team to wince at the tone. "Sora and I will rescue Kairi alone. But if we don't return within an hour, you can come help."

There was a tone of authority in his voice that told the crew that the matter was closed. Riku quickly turned on his heels once knowing the message had sunk in and Sora gave an apologetic look to the team of five before chasing after him. There was an atmosphere of disappointment between the members of the Sonic Team, but none more than Marine, who kicked her toe into the starboard side. Silver watched the rascally raccoon for a moment as she starting hopping on one foot from the pain before returning to his navigational charts. He was determined to find a way back. Sonic settled himself against the mast with Storm and Angel, sitting on her friend's shoulder, looking down at him.

"So what do we do now?" Angel asked irritably.

"I don't know about you, but I'm gonna catch up on my sleep." Sonic replied with a smirk. "This is the first time in a while that we've been given a break and I'm going to suck up every last second of it."

"That doesn't sound to bad." Storm shrugged.

"Honestly." Angel rolled her eyes.

Sonic passed the few short moments by watching the two best friends squabbling amongst each other before feeling the weight off all his missions bear down upon him. The full moon's shining rays had a mesmeric effect on the cobalt hedgehog and his eyes slowly dived into unconscious sleep.

* * *

The Keyblade Master found himself standing in the middle of a barren wasteland with towering rock formations, eye-watering sand blowing with the wind, and the harsh sun bearing down from above. Sonic couldn't possibly understand why he was in such an unforgiving environment and he also couldn't understand why his Keyblade had changed. Half of the hilt resembled the Kingdom Key, but the main body was dark-grey with a golden spiral around the shaft and the teeth resembling a bird's wing. His Keychain looked like two feather wrapped in a gust of wind, possibly explaining the Keyblade's transformation. And if this dream couldn't get any weirder, the Keyblade Master found himself in a circle of Neoshadows swarming viciously in a circle around him. But instead of facing the average Heartless bravely like he normally would, he felt...afraid?

"Please, stop it, master!" Sonic shouted fearfully in a voice that wasn't his own. "I'm not strong enough to handle this!"

Standing at the pinnacle of the closest rock formation, an elderly character watched the event with a disapproving stare. The concealed his identity in a three-pronged silver mask that only showed his eyes glowing in an ominous pale-blue light. He wore a violet-purple cloak that parted down the middle with glowing neon symbols around the rim. His attire also consisted of a gold/black brace around his neckline, golden rings around his wrists, and gold/black boots. The masked anomaly didn't move to help the surrounded Keyblade Warrior, but contented himself to watching from a distance.

"No, you are simply holding back!" The master said in a demanding tone. "Use your inner darkness' urge to fight. Now, set it free and turn it all into anger and hatred! If you do not liberate the dark feelings within your heart, you will disappear from this world!" Sonic staggered left and right as the Heartless swarmed closer. "Yes, entrust your heart to the darkness and present me with the X-Blade!"

The X-Blade. That same one continually appeared within his mind more recently – each urge becoming stronger than the last. What is the X-Blade and why does it continue to haunt his every waking moment? The Keyblade warrior didn't have enough to contemplate this matter before the Heartless pounced and everything faded into black.

* * *

"Sonic...Sonic, wake up..."

"Huh?" Sonic mutter groggily.

The cobalt hedgehog lazily lifted his head off the wooden floor, never figuring out how he got there in the first place, and stretched his arms with a loud yawn. While rubbing the drowsiness out of his eyes, Sonic remembered that he was back on Destiny Islands and not surrounded by Neoshadows in a deserted wasteland. Although, the alternative wasn't any better. Silver and Storm equally assisted the Keyblade Master to his feet with Angel standing on the railing of the ship and Marine sliding across the deck on a mop. No one questioned her.

"What's up?" Sonic asked dazed.

"It's been over an hour and Sora and Riku haven't come back yet." Storm informed cautiously. "We're think they might have gotten into trouble with Xehanort and Eggman."

"We kept to our agreement and stayed behind." Silver stated with a hint of loathing. "I know those two are Keyblade Masters, but they're going up against a knowledgeable enemy like Eggman and those hellish monsters of theirs."

"Then we'll just have to go looking for them." Sonic said excitedly before turning to the pink experiment. "Angel, you stay here with Marine and the ship. If we don't come back within half an hour, I want you to cast off without us."

"Why do I have to stay behind?" Angel whined.

"Angel, please." Sonic said pleadingly, resting his hands on her shoulders. "For Marine."

The pink experiment looked back over her shoulder to the helm, where Marine was playing with the steering wheel. It hadn't occurred to Angel that Xehanort would send his unnatural Darkseekers to search the island in the event that the two teens had been captured. The Sonic Team had already faced the nightmarish half-Heartless once and the rascally raccoon was deathly afraid of them to the point where her powers were rendered useless. She wouldn't be able to handle herself alone. With that though it mind, Angel nodded firmly to her leader's command, earning a relieved sigh from the hedgehog. Sonic walked over the gangplank to the shore of the island with the original members of his team following faithfully at his side. It's been a long time since it was just the three of them – Storm was feeling nostalgic. Since Sonic had spent his entire childhood exploring the secondary island, he knew the complete layout of the cove and knew there were two ways to the shoreline. Because of Storm's...stature, Sonic thought it would be unwise to jump on top of palm trees to the cavern above. That only left the doorway on the opposite end of the cove. Unfortunately, the Sonic Team had to cross the rickety bridge that had been known to collapse from time to time when under extreme pressure. And with the mighty albatross on their heels, the situation fell into that category.

"Watch your step now." Sonic forewarned, stepping down on the secured plank. "This thing could give way at any moment when it's supporting something heavy." Both hedgehog's stiffened at slowly craned their heads back to Storm's suspicious gaze. "And by heavy, I meant three people walking on the same bridge."

"Makes sense." Storm nodded cluelessly.

"**Dodged the bullet on that one.**" Dark Sonic sighed in relief. "**It would be bad enough if two of your best friends were out for your blood.**"

"_How long are you going to keep bringing that up?_" Sonic questioned irritably.

"**Until you tell the truth to Silver.**" Dark Sonic replied firmly.

"_I'm just...waiting for the right moment to tell him._" Sonic proclaimed feebly. "_Maybe...when we're all cornered by Heartless and about to die, then I'll tell him._"

The Heartless counterpart wanted nothing more than to break free from his container and pound the Keyblade Master to the point of near-death. He may have been a monster created from the darkness, but his adventures with Sonic and company had transformed the pitch-black hedgehog into something unexplainable. It was almost as if he was becoming his own person. Unfortunately, both counterparts knew that wouldn't last as they began to feel the combined energies mingling together. It wouldn't be long before Dark Sonic ceased to exist. The Keyblade Master brushed the sorrowful thought aside as they reached the other end of the bridge safely and stopped at the wooden door leading to the beach. Sonic stepped forward with his handle stretched for the handle until the door swung wide open, slamming the poor hedgehog's face into the sand. While Storm assisted Sonic back to hiss feet, Silver stood with his hands outstretched to prevent the assault of an imminent attacker. Thankfully enough, it was only Riku, who was panting heavily from previous exhaustion, carrying Kairi on his shoulder.

"Riku, let me go!" Kairi yelled, trying to squirm out of his grip. "Let me go, we have to go back!"

"Not a chance." Riku grunted, struggling with the restless princess before noticing the team. "Oh, hey guys. Have you met Kairi?"

"Not really." Storm replied, scratching his head.

"What's going on?" Silver questioned swiftly, looking between the two teens. "And what happened to Sora."

"Yeah...we kinda ran into a little snag." Riku said awkwardly; he winced as Kairi slapped him over the head. "But the main point is that we saved Kairi and I'll drop her off at the ship to make sure she stays safe." He pushed past to animalistic trio towards the bridge, ignoring the small fists pounding against his back. "I'll just leave you three to clean up."

"Clean up what?" Sonic said confused.

Unfortunately, the wooden door flew open once more and smacked the cobalt hedgehog in the back of the head, throwing him off the small ledge and into the shallow water. If it wasn't for the fact that Sonic was on his home turf, he would have gone ballistic when falling into the water. He lifted himself up properly, wringing the water out of his drooping quills, and stood in attention to the newest cause of his grief. Just as the Sonic Team had predicted, Xehanort had sent a swarm of eight Darkseekers to hunt them – their pale-white faces looked livid with hunger. Silver and Storm had already jumped back to join their leader's side and looked back to Riku for support. However, the trio was left sadly disappointed as the silver-haired teen carried his friend over the bridge and back towards the cove, leaving the heroes to fend for themselves.

"Really should have seen that one coming." Sonic commented dryly.

"**Truthfully, I would have done the same.**" Dark sonic nodded.

The cobalt hedgehog didn't express it, he also shared the same thought. Looking back at the pale-demon's Sonic summoned the Keyblade, admiring its newest appearance. The base of the Keyblade was coated in ruby-red scales with a spiral of black spines circling the shaft, a row of teeth forming the hand guard, and a smoky-black, mist-like design forming the teeth of the weapon. And at the chain of the weapon, the dragon-ball pendent given to them on Budokai as a gift from Pan. It took much debate, but Sonic and his Heartless agreed to the name of the new Keyblade Kiryu after the ancient name of the dragons.

"Well, at least we'll get some good practice in." Sonic grinned eagerly.

Storm nodded merrily with his friend and Silver merely sighed in exasperation. Now for the main point of the chapter. The Darkseekers dropped down on all fours and scurried savagely into the shallow waters, scattered the teammates in separate directions. Sonic skipped back, finding the water coming halfway to his shin, and stood his ground with the Kiryu raised for protection. Two of the Darkseekers broke from the pack, clawing and shoving one another out of the way to their meal. Sonic managed to sidestep after the first Half-Heartless bounded over its partner's back, listening to the confirming splash from behind. The second Darkseeker attacked with its exposed nails and Sonic swiped the Keyblade to mimic the pale demon's movements. Sonic was happy to learn that the Kiryu was more fluid with his movements and was highly endurable, despite its lightweight feeling. The cobalt hedgehog found and opportunity to duck under the Darkseeker's claw after making a wild swipe, using the shaft of his Keyblade to pull at the demon's ankle. Sonic turned with a satisfactory smirk as the pale demon flipped over his head and landed with a splashing thud after dropping on top of its partners. The Half-Heartless grunted and snarled at each other, obviously enraged at the incident that neither of them noticing the hedgehog putting away the Kiryu. A soft smirked crossed his expression before the hedgehog waved his hands to their air, commanding the waters below to encase the pale demons. And as an added precaution, Sonic took a deep breath and expelled cold air over the water prison – the sound of crackling ice was music to his ears.

"That oughta chill them out." Sonic snorted at his own joke.

"**Please...please, don't every say that again.**" Dark Sonic begged pathetically. "**That was the worst pun I've have ever heard in all of my unnatural existence.**"

"_Hey, I'm running out of material._" Sonic whimpered.

Meanwhile, Storm thrusted his trusted shield forward to slam against the head of the nearest Darkseeker, sending the pale demon stumbling absentmindedly. One of the remaining two half-Heartless threw their ally aside and lunged forward with its nails outstretched. The might albatross once again raised his trusted weapon for defense and the round metal broke every cuticle on the demon's hands. The Darkseeker roared in an inhumane manner – whether by anger or pain unknown – leaving the beast wide open for Storm to strike with his fist. His strength proved to be rather impressive as the conflict caused the demon to skip across the surface of the shallow water and collided with the stumbling Darkseeker from earlier. Storm pumped his fist into the air, proud of his accomplishment. But without his proper notice, the third member of the pack crawled behind the large albatross and jumped on his wide back – his nails digging deep into the feathers. The Captain of the Guard ignored the pain and twisted back and forth to shake off his attacker, but the half-Heartless wouldn't relieve its grip. And when the Darkseeker took a bite into his shoulder, Storm really lost it. Looking back over his free shoulder, the large albatross backtracked into the rock wall directly behind them, impacting the surface with tremendous force. The cracking stone vibrated in Storm's head, but the effects were enough to force the pale monster off of his back.

"I can't believe he bit me." Storm grumbled, rubbing his shoulder. "What do I look like, a turkey?" An awkward moment of silence passed as the heroes and villains alike stopped and stared. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." Silver chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, what were they thinking?" Sonic said anxiously.

Storm had no clue what was going on, which better suited the two hedgehogs. In the mean time, Silver was left to handle remaining three Darkseekers with his own power. But because he wasn't as strong as the albatross and nowhere near as agile as the Keyblade Master, it would make things even more difficult. The Babylon Mystic wielded his dragon staff to the aquatic environment surrounding them, commanding the liquid to form a snaky path above his head. With a forceful thrust, Silver separated the stream into three separate paths, each striking the Darkseekers with excessive force. While the attack was strong enough to throw them off their balance, it wasn't enough to keep them down. Two of the pale demons splashed and scuttled their way over their third companioning, throwing themselves at the Babylon Mystic. Silver swiftly stabbed his weapon into the wet sand, summoning a reflective dome between him and the ravenous half-Heartless. The dual Darkseekers snapped and snarled furiously as their severe nails showed no signs of damage against Silver's barrier. The steel-grey hedgehog allowed himself to sit back momentarily while letting out a sigh of relief. This allowed him a chance to think of a way to discover the Darkseeker's weakness without disturbance. Unfortunate, Silver that fusing a Heartless with a human gives them one valuable trait: they can learn. Without warning, the ground below the hedgehog's feet exploded outwards and the third Darkseeker stretched his dirt-covered hand for Silver's throat. The unexpected trap caused Silver to react in an unpredictable manner by throwing his hand forward and sparking a flash of brief light. While the tactic would have only blinded an opponent, the closest Darkseeker hissed violent with its hands protecting its face – a sizzling crackle could be heard beneath.

"What the?" Silver ponder. The Babylon mystic lowered his barrier and stepped away, surprised to find the creature was not only injured, but it partners were backing away fearfully. "Hmm...that's odd. I wonder if..." Driven by a new theory, he held his hand out and used his light magic to summon a sphere of golden rays; the Darkseeker's scuttled away instantly. "That's it! These monsters have a weakness! Sonic, where are you?"

"Yeesh, you don't have to yell." Silver jumped as Sonic appeared behind him, wielding the Kiryu. "This better be important because I'm a little busy at the moment."

"These most have a weakness: Light." Silver said quickly in case the Darkseekers approached. "That's why Xehanort decided to use them during the night."

"Guess that makes sense." Sonic nodded. "So what do you want me to do about it?"

"If we combine our powers, we can generate enough light to send them running." Silver explained.

"I don't know." Sonic said uncertainly. "Light magic isn't exactly my specialty."

"You've got another plan?" Silver questioned.

The cobalt hedgehog was going to suggest that they just keep fighting until the Darkseekers get tired, but his Heartless counterpart reminded him that Heartless never rest. With an audible groan, Sonic diminished the Kiryu and stood back-to-back with his teacher, who relinquished the warm light. At the moment the glowing sphere faded, the pale demons charged without fear, not questioning why the two hedgehogs clapped with hands together. It took all of Sonic's concentration not to screw everything up since light was an element he had yet to master. The crunching sands grew louder with each footstep from the approaching monsters, sending a nervous chill down his spine. And at long last, he couldn't handle the pressure any more. The Keyblade Master threw out his hands and released all the light compressed within him, which worked simultaneously with Silver performing the same method. A flashbang shined in between the dual hedgehogs that enveloped a good majority of the cove and the denizens stumbling in the sands. Storm raised the shield over his eyes to protect himself, watching with a stunned look as the Darkseekers were reduced to cinders under the ray of light. The flash only lasted for six second, but every moment counted when the half-Heartless were eliminated successfully.

"Well, that wasn't too bad." Silver commented; Sonic slapped his forehead. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Never – make me – do that – again!" Sonic snarled heatedly.

"That was a nice trick." Storm said as he stowed his shield. "But I don't think it'll work a second time if that Xehanort guys send more Heartless after us."

"We don't have a choice." Sonic sighed in defeat. "We'll have to return to the ship and regroup from there."

Neither of the Babylonians argued with their leader until Silver noted that they would now have to swim to the ship – Storm was forced to carry the boulder carrying the terrified hedgehog over his head. Amazingly enough, Riku had already taken the liberty of casting off and waited offshore for the heroes to return. Sonic suspected that Sora might have returned in the middle of the scuffle. It was Marine who spotted the trio wading from the starboard side and lowered the rope ladder, jumping to the side before Sonic could run her over. Silver and Storm followed their "fearless" leader, finding the Keyblade Master clutching the mast for dear life. Angel was leaning against the railing at the helm while Riku steered the ship out into open waters with fierce determination in his eyes. The only one who didn't seem happy about their successful escape was Kairi, who was standing with her arms crossed and glaring at her silver-haired friend.

"This is the guy that's going to save us?" Angel muttered impassively. "Yep, we're pretty much screwed."

"I think we should head back to the mainland." Silver proclaimed, running to join Riku's side. "If I know Eggman, he'll send every Heartless in his disposal to search the island for us."

"Already ahead of you." Riku nodded monotonously. "The winds are in peak condition to carrying us northward for the main island. Once there, we'll drop off Kairi safely and come back to take care of Xehanort."

"So, you're the legendary Kairi." The red-haired teen turned, blinking surprisingly at the blue hedgehog that managed to pry himself from his safe spot. "Sora's told us a lot about you. My name is Sonic the Hedgehog, Sora's dimensional counterpart." He waved a hand to his team. "And these are my friends Silver, Marine, Storm, and Angel."

"It's nice to meet you, Kairi." Storm said respectfully. "So your Sora's girlfriend, right?"

"W-wh-what?" Kairi stuttered embarrassingly; her face was a red as her hair. "No, he's not – I mean, he's my friend and he's a boy, but – you know – well, how do I explain – but I..."

Where' is Sora, anyway, mate?" Marine asked interestingly. "Didn't he come back with you?"

"I thought he went back to the ship with Riku." Silver blinked confused. "You mean he never showed up?"

"Why don't you ask Riku what happened?" Kairi said coldly, which seemed rather odd in comparison to Sora's stories. "I'm sure he would love to explain what exactly happened to his best friend."

There was an awkward moment of silence shared between the group of seven with all eyes pointed at the silver-haired teenager at the wheel. Riku didn't fidget or wince at the menacing stares given off by the others, but Sonic did notice that his movements were unusually stiff. Espio did the same thing whenever he did something bad – they must be dimensional counterparts. Finally, Riku couldn't stand the unwanted attention and turned his head to face the others.

"All right, if you really want to know." Riku said firmly. "I sorta...knocked Sora out with a piece of wood and left him on the beach with Xehanort." The heroes gasped dramatically. "I used it as a distraction to keep Xehanort and the Heartless busy while I grabbed Kairi and ran."

"You what?" Angel and the heroes screamed. "What the hell are you thinking? Leaving your best friend behind?"

"Sora will be fine." Riku said offhandedly. "Xehanort won't hurt him."

"Riku, you don't understand." Kairi said pleadingly. "He wants to use Sora for..."

"The X-Blade." Riku interrupted; Sonic's ears perked in attention. "He wants to use for to create the X-Blade, but it's not going to work. Trust me, Sora will be just fine."

Even though Riku passed himself as a trustful person, Kairi and the Sonic Team did have a whole lot of confidence in the silver-haired teen. And unfortunately, Riku was the only one that knew how to steer the boat, leaving the rest of the crew with no room for objection. Kairi was still mad at her best friend and walked away in a huff and the Sonic Team scattered to their own devices. However, Sonic's mind was filled with disturbing thoughts about his dream, the shadowy master, and the echoing words of the X-Blade.

"_That's the second time we've heard about the X-Blade._" Sonic thought cluelessly. "_What exactly is the X-Blade?_"

"**I don't know any more than you do.**" Dark Sonic responded. "**But I do know that the vision originally emanated from the unaccounted heart we now share.**"

"_You think it has something to do with the X-Blade?_" Sonic asked hopefully.

"**We can only guess.**" Dark Sonic answered.

* * *

The final scene returns to the sand beaches of the secondary island, where a cluster of Darkseekers gathered in a circle in the sand. Xehanort stood proudly at the center of attention with Eggman, nervously watching the half-Heartless, joined by his side rather quickly. After twelve years of plotting and scheming, the dark master was finally ready to take back his rightful place amongst the gods. The dark-skinned overlord stared down at his spiky-haired adversary as he fruitlessly struggled against the Neoshadow's grip keeping him in place. After putting on a brave performance, Sora was finally forced to his knee under the piercing gaze of his life-long adversary.

"So we meet again, Sora." Xehanort said casually. "I must thank you for everything you've done. If you hadn't destroyed my Heartless and my Nobody, I would still be a divided soul." He bowed mockingly. "And for that, I thank you."

"Whatever." Sora spat, looking away from him.

"Enough of this, Xehanort!" Eggman shouted impatiently. "Hurry up and make that X-Blade thing so we can conquer Kingdom Hearts already!" He stiffened slightly at the piercing-gold gaze directed towards him. "Uh...when you're ready."

"..." Xehanort glared silently before kneeling to the Keyblade Master. "Twice you have assisted me in the completion of my goals and now you shall aid me for a third time."

The spiky-haired hero struggled and squirmed in the grip of the Neoshadows, hoping against hope that they would slip up and allow him to summon the Keyblade. But Xehanort brought down the final strike. The dark-skinned warrior stabbed his hand into Sora's chest, which was surprisingly painless to the spiky-haired teenager. Eggman watched with some disturbance as his new comrade moved his hand in around Sora's chest, supposedly searching for the teen's heart. But all of a sudden, Xehanort's victorious smirked transformed into a spiteful glare and withdrew his hand from Sora's heart, much to the teen's relief. The surrounding crowd watched anxiously as their master stood at full height, scowling menacingly at Sora.

"Well?" Eggman questioned, tapping his foot impatiently. What are you waiting for? Where in blazes is this X-Blade you've been rambling on abo..."

The Babylonian scientist was cut off by a swift flash of darkness and the feeling of cold steel being pressed against his neck. Eggman would never have believed it if he didn't see it with his own eyes. The dark master had summoned a Keyblade in his right hand, and a threatening looking Keyblade at that. The weapon was had a double-edged appearance with black demonic wings acting as the hand guard, a horned lion-like head at the hilt, two barbed shafts and teeth resembling a battle axe with three claw-like protrusions. Much like Espio's previous and current weapon, this Keyblade had aqua-blue demon eyes at the head of the shaft and at the hilt. The round scientist was sweating fearfully under Xehanort's glare, but the dark master did not strike him down. Instead, he turned on his heel and twisted his sword around to slash one of the Darkseekers down the middle, splitting it into two pieces.

"Sora's heart will not be sufficient." Xehanort said dangerously calm. "His heart is filled with too much light and overbalances the darkness buried inside of him. He is unsuitable to create the X-Blade."

"Then what's the point of keeping him?" Eggman exclaimed angrily, stamping his feet into the sand. "I say we just get rid of him and eliminate that infuriating hedgehog for all the trouble he's caused us!"

"No, we can't do that." Xehanort said collectively. "Sora is Riku's closest friend and he has shown boundlessly loyalty to him – he even allowed himself to be consumed by the darkness. He would never leave his friend behind without a purpose."

"What do you think he wants?" Eggman questioned.

"He wants to make a deal." Xehanort smirked.

* * *

**The tide changes from each direction. How will this change of events benefit the Sonic Team? What is the secret shared between Xehanort and Riku? And what is the true story behind this legendary X-Blade? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	33. Another Kingdom, Part 3

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Thirty-One: Another Kingdom, Part 3

The scene returns to the open sea between the mainland of Destiny Islands and the secondary island that was pushed outwards by the Heartless. Aboard the ship they had...'commandeered' the Sonic Team was scattered around the deck, leaving Riku alone at the wheel. After the incident that occurred only ten minutes past, none of the heroes seemed to want to be within five feet of the former Keyblade warrior. Then again, who would? What kind of person would be willing sacrifice their best friend to someone like Xehanort? Kairi was thinking along the same lines as she stared out into the open ocean, pondering over a particular spiky-haired Keyblade Master in danger.

"You really should be down in the cabin, Kairi." Riku warned nonchalantly. "We don't want to run the risk of Xehanort taking you again."

"What do you care?" Kairi glared heatedly. "I'm surprised you haven't thrown me overboard right now and left me to the sharks."

"Ouch, that hurts." Riku commented.

"You can't say she doesn't have a good reason." Sonic stated, stepping up to the silver-haired teen's side. "So, any plans on what we're going to do next? Maybe you've got some hidden plan on how we're going to save Sora?"

"Oh, we're not going to save Sora." Riku smiled proudly; Sonic seemed disturbed. "We're headed back for the main island, relax for a few hours, and wait for Xehanort to come to us. Then...well, I'm not really sure what we're going to do after that. But I know it's gonna be good."

"**Is he being serious or just playing around?**" Dark Sonic asked worriedly.

"_I can't really tell what's going on inside his head._" Sonic replied. "_He acts like he has no clue what he's doing, but everything that's been going on for the past few hours have been working in his favor. It's like he plans everything out._"

"**He does seem confident that Xehanort will come for us.**" Dark Sonic said pointedly. "**He's not telling us everything.**"

"Yeah..." Sonic murmured aloud before directing his focus on Riku. "You know, you seem to know a lot about this Xehanort guy than you're letting on. Mind telling us the whole story?"

"Well, you're right about one thing: Me and Xehanort have a connection." Riku proclaimed, drawing the attention of the crew. "There was a time when I would have done anything to leave the island, even surrender myself to the darkness. Xehanort heard my wishes and opened my eyes to the darkness. I was so happy to escape my prison that I never realized Xehanort never gives anything without asking something in return. He manipulated everyone: Sora, Maleficent, and the Heartless so that we could open the door to Kingdom Hearts for him to take. But his greatest pawn was me."

"**Does this story sound familiar?**" Dark Sonic commented.

"_He sounds a lot like Espio._" Sonic replied thoughtfully. "_And if he is Espio's dimensional counterpart, maybe there's a chance he'll hint to where Espio is hiding now._"

"**I wouldn't get your hopes up.**" Dark Sonic rejected. "**They may hold similarities, but there are significant differences.**"

"After Xehanort was beaten the first time," Riku continued disturbed, snapping the hedgehog back to reality. "I thought that would be the end of it. But that only lasted until I arrived in Castle Oblivion."

"Castle Oblivion?" Storm repeated confused.

"I guess you wouldn't remember it too well, being Sora's counterpart and all." Riku shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyway, when I walked into Castle Oblivion, Ansem the Wise – or DiZ as he liked to be called – guided through the floors to prepare me to face Xehanort in person. I managed to conquer my darkness, but Xehanort's evil was still seeded in my heart. Now every time I opened my eyes, I would see myself in the mirror, only to find Xehanort staring back at me."

"But you don't look like Xehanort now." Angel blinked confused.

"Ansem the Wise made a machine to stop Xehanort's second attempt for Kingdom Hearts." Riku explained solemnly. "But even Ansem admitted that he didn't fully understand the power of the heart and the Decoder imploded, but not before destroying Xehanort's artificial Kingdom Hearts." He stared at his open palm; a sad expression crossed his face. "The explosion managed to evict Xehanort from my heart, but without him, my darkness grew weaker everyday. Now...I'm powerless."

"And you still expect Xehanort to follow us?" Silver questioned suspiciously. "You know he won't try to use you again after he failed the first few attempts. And besides, he has Sora."

"And that's exactly why he'll come." Riku said confidently.

This left the Sonic Team in utter confusion, but they couldn't deny that Riku's words seem to boast confidence. If what the silver-haired teen said was true, then he knew exactly how Xehanort's mind worked and that would give them a small advantage. But if the Seeker of Darkness was as careful and cunning as Mephiles, then their advantage wouldn't prove as useful as they would hope. The rest of the journey was unnaturally silent with the exception of the overlapping waves against the hull and the trade winds billowing against the sails. Sonic noticed that during Riku's explanation, Kairi had not looked away from the sea – she was still upset over his betrayal. Ten uneventful minutes passed by and the sailing crew was still only halfway to the mainland, leaving the heroes to settle their boredom in their own fashion. Sonic practiced with his new Keyblade: Kiryu, Silver was still trying to find a way back to their dimension, and Angel and Storm went back to their game of Liar Dice. The pink experiment learned that her best friend was an excellent liar. Marine was the only one that didn't have a clue on what to do next. The normally rambunctious raccoon had gone through the mayor's entire secret pirate-wear and was leaning against the railing, staring out to the open ocean. Marine couldn't wait to grow up so that she could be the captain of her own ship; maybe Sonic could be her first mate. She was suddenly snapped back to the realm of reality by short splash and a sharp thud against the side of the ship – waves didn't hit that hard. Drawn by curiosity, the youngest hero craned her head over the railing and stared down the side, suddenly falling backwards when coming face-to-face with the pale-white demons.

"Bloody hell!" Marine screamed.

"Marine!" Sonic scolded.

"Sorry, mate!" Marine yelled as she ran past.

As the frightened raccoon dived under the stairway, Kairi quickly rushed to join her as Riku stepped away from the wheel and the Sonic Team jumped in defense. As the Darkseekers slowly crawled over the railings of the ship and plopped unceremoniously onto the deck, the heroes were instantaneous in summoning their weapons. But before a fight could be initiated, separate miniscule flames of darkness ripped through the crowd of Darkseekers and snapped at their heroes' hands, causing them to involuntarily relinquish their weapons. It wasn't long before the pale demons took possession of the Sonic Team's weapons for their own with the exception of the Keyblade, which vanished without a trace. There was no possible chance that the Darkseekers would be capable of such careful planning – they weren't alone. True to this fact, the half-Heartless soldiers parted directly down the middle, allowing safe passage for Eggman and Xehanort to walk freely between them. Sora was restrained by a thick tangle of rope being pulled by the Babylonian scientists. Despite the situation, the spiky-haired teen seemed to be as calm and collected as Riku, who was diligently walking down from the helm to confront the invaders. The silver-haired warrior stopped directly at Sonic's left side, gazing with mild interest to his former master.

"Well, you guys showed up much faster than I expected." Riku claimed coolly.

"It wasn't that difficult." Xehanort replied collectively. "You weren't trying to escape."

"Say what now?" Angel questioned confused.

"The only reason you left Sora behind is because you knew we would be coming." Xehanort proclaimed intelligently. "I have known you for far too long to understand your motives, Riku. The only possible reason you would leave your best friend behind is if you wanted to make a bargain."

"You're ready too much into this." Eggman scoffed. "We have the boy, we have the hedgehog, and we have the ship completely under our command. What more could we possibly need?"

"How about the X-Blade?" Riku smirked; the villains stiffened at the mentioning. "Yeah, I know all about your plans to create the X-Blade and opening the door to Kingdom Hearts. But you can't do that without all the pieces to the puzzle, can ya?"

"What is it that you want?" Xehanort glared ominously.

"Three things." Riku answered, holding up three fingers to emphasize his point. "One, you are to return Sora safely to us. Two, you let us go free and without a fight. And three...you give back the darkness I accepted a long time ago."

"That seems like a high price to pay." Eggman said critically. "What could you possibly have to match the trade?"

This was apparently the moment Riku had been waiting for all night – he was never going to have another chance like this. Before the Sonic Team was granted the opportunity to react, the silver-haired warrior jumped to his right and tackled Sonic to the wooden floorboard. The Darkseekers twitched anxiously, Kairi and Marine gasped in shock, but the remaining members of the Sonic Team were likely to respond. While still wrestling the cobalt hedgehog to the ground, Riku snapped his attention over his left shoulder and spotted Angel making a jump with her claws bared and her teeth exposed. The silver-haired teen swiftly twisted his legs around to strike at the pink experiment's ribcage with his foot, successfully throwing her into Silver's face. The former Keyblade warrior refocused his thoughts to Storm as the large albatross charged forward with a vicious battle cry. Unfortunately, Riku threw himself back to his feet and forced Sonic's arms behind his spine before lifting him off the floor, causing the hedgehog's foot to kick at Storm's feet. While the Babylon guard was distracted by the pain, Riku stepped forward and thrusted his heel into the bird's chest, forcing him to the ground. The Sonic Team barely stood a chance against the silver-haired teen, who had successfully restrained the Keyblade Master with his hands.

"This is what you are looking for." Riku grunted, struggling to keep his hold. "This hedgehog has the perfect balance of light and darkness in his hearts, exactly what you need to summon the X-blade. So here's the deal: You give in to all my demands and you get the hedgehog."

"Ugh, traitor!" Sonic growled.

"**You can't say you didn't expect this.**" Dark Sonic stated.

"So you are willing to sacrifice an innocent life – a friend – to regain your lost power." Xehanort chuckled darkly. "Can you honestly live with yourself knowing that you are condemning another so that you can sake your lust for the darkness?"

"Yep, I'm good with it." Riku nodded.

Both masters of darkness stared down across from one another, trying to sense the other for signs of deception. But Riku's will was strong from years of experience – he would not break. The Dark Keyblade Master slowly lifted his hand forward, summoning the malevolent form of his personal chosen weapon. The half-Heartless hissed and backed away from their master, dropping the Sonic Team's weapons on the deck with a ringing clatter. Ignoring the protests of his creations, Xehanort collected a strong mass of darkness around the teeth and expelled the malevolent energy forward. Sonic struggled to break free from Riku's grip, but the former Keyblade wielder forced him into place as they confronted the darkness head-on. However, the mass of shadows parted around the cobalt hedgehog and reconnected to strike at the Riku's spine. The silver-haired teen hissed at the reunion of his darkness, forcing him to his knees with enough strength to keep a firm hold around Sonic's wrists. A sharp chill traveled through his veins from his feet to his fingertips – the sweet taste of darkness had returned. Once adjusting to the sudden rush of power, Riku collected himself to stand and smirk confidently to his adversary.

"I've given you what you want." Xehanort said suspiciously, taking Sora away from his partner. "Now complete your end of the bargain."

"Gladly." Riku nodded.

Both warriors of the darkness forced their individual Keyblade Masters forward, thrusting the dimensional counterparts to face one another. Xehanort and Riku tentatively reached a hand out for their prize, possibly ready to back out in case one should show any signs of treachery. But the exchange was made without trouble and the two enemies stepped back with their prizes in hand. Riku was instant to cut the bindings around his best friend, but Xehanort handed off the cobalt hedgehog roughly to Eggman, who was greatly pleased by the new situation.

"Our business has concluded." Xehanort said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

And with that, the Seeker of Darkness summoned one of the Corridors of Darkness, following his servants after they went ahead from the shadowed tunnel. Sora and Riku watched cautiously until Xehanort had passed through and the dark mist faded with the wind. The spiky-haired warrior sighed out of pure relief and rubbed his sore wrists from the rope burns, but was suddenly shoved aside without his knowing. Once they were in the clear, Marine had charged out of her hiding spot, pushed Sora out of her way and was currently pound her tiny fists into Riku's stomach; tears coated her eyes.

"You – big – stupid – bugger!" Marine cried with every punch; Riku was impassive. "How could you do that, mate! He was a good bloke, he helped you when you needed it, and your still turned him in? You stupid piece of..."

"Marine, you can stop now." Sora said calmly.

"She's got the right idea." The humans looked over to find Silver and the rest of the team collecting their weapons; they were beyond pissed. "You better stand clear, Sora. We don't want you to get hurt while we're beating the crap out of him."

"Guy, you don't understand!" Sora proclaimed fearfully.

"Like hell we don't!" Storm yelled angrily. "That bastard sold out our best friend!"

"And now we're going to go get him back." Riku said calmly, grabbed the raccoon's hands.

"What are you talking about?" Kairi asked, hesitantly moving from her hiding place.

"That's what we're trying to tell you." Sora smiled weakly. "Everything is going exactly as we planned it. I'm back, Riku has his darkness, and we know exactly where Xehanort's headed. Now all that's left is to rescue Sonic and stop Xehanort before he can create the X-Blade."

"Wait, wait, wait." Angel said exasperatedly, holding up her hands. "Are you tell me that every that happened in the last two hours has been part of some secret plan you two made up?" The human heroes glanced at one another and nodded. "When exactly did you make this plan and why didn't you tell us?"

"We didn't tell you because we wanted to make it look convincing." Riku explained, pacing confidently to the helm. "No offense to of you, but you're terrible actors. So before Sora was 'captured'..." He waved quotation marks at the word. "We put our heads together and created a brilliant plan to get back at Xehanort."

"We already knew he wanted the X-Blade and that he wanted to use me to create it." Sora continued. "But the problem was that my heart was filled with too much light and all of use together wouldn't be strong enough to take on Xehanort the way we are now. So we came up with a plan to trick Xehanort into giving back Riku's darkness. That way, we'd have enough power to take him out and his little army."

"So you pretended to be captured." Kairi said wide-eyed. "So that when Xehanort figured it out, he'd come straight back here and Riku would force him into an agreement."

"And now we just have to finish the job." Riku said seriously as he took the wheel. "Get ready to set sail back for Destiny Islands! We've only got a few minutes to turn this ship around before Xehanort tires anything!"

"Aye, aye, captain!" The crew saluted before scattering.

"That's the second time I had to watch that man take my friends away from me." Riku muttered harshly; his eyes narrowed with anger. "I promise there won't be a third time."

* * *

The scenery alternates to the shrouded shore of the secondary island, ringing with restless echoes of a struggle. The cobalt Keyblade Master was forced to his knees in the sand by the Darkseekers that swarmed him from all sides, each one hissing with anxiety. Sonic was sure that unless commanded by their master, the pale half-Heartless would have ripped his skin away and begin to devour his marrowbones. Even Dark Sonic shuddered at the thought. From a safe distance, Eggman had settled himself on a nearby rock formation with a wicked grin stretched across his bushy face. After all the trouble, the meddlesome hedgehog was finally going to be eliminated from the equation and he would soon have the upper hand against Black Doom and take control of the Heartless. Now the question remains: how to steal the X-Blade? The rotund scientist calculated the advantages presented him as he looked between the Keyblade Master captured by the Darkseekers and the silver-haired mastermind standing over them.

"What are you waiting for?" Eggman questioned impatiently. "Hurry up and take this X-Blade thing already!

"Something isn't right about this situation." Xehanort proclaimed suspiciously. "The fact is proven that this rodent..." Sonic's eye twitched at the word. "Possess an unusually balanced heart of light and darkness; that much is true. But securing him was almost too easy, especially when we're dealing with a cunning opponent like Riku."

"You're being paranoid." Eggman scoffed. "You act like someone is just going to waltz in and stop us."

"Not anymore."

Eggman jumped out of shock and fell sideways to the sand at the same moment Xehanort swiftly summoned his menacing Keyblade in defense. As the Seeker of Darkness would have suspected, Sora's nobility and the friendship of the Sonic Team compelled them to attempt a feeble rescue of their leader. But it seems their plans were halt before they even began. The spiky-haired teen, along with Silver, Storm, and Angel, were tied together by a thick coil of rope impressively knotted around their waists. Riku was leading the pack by the tug of the rope, carrying the limp form of Marine on his shoulder. It would seem that the silver-haired warrior had committed yet another act of betrayal, but Xehanort did not let his guard drop. Riku was a crafty character.

"What are you doing here?" Eggman sputtered, brushing sand out of his mustache. "We gave you what you wanted, so leave!"

"I only made the agreement because I thought Sora would be grateful for the rescue." Riku shrugged impassively. "But I forgot that he's not one to take gratitude lightly. They wanted to come back and save the little blue fuzz ball and...Well..." He threw the limp raccoon to the ground; she remained unmoving. "Poor little thing. She really didn't need to get involved."

"Marine..." Sonic gapped horrifically; the raccoon failed to answer. "You filthy, ungrateful son of a..."

"That'll be enough out of you!" Eggman shouted with authority; the Darkseekers growled lowly.

"I must admit, Riku, I thought I had you all figured out." Xehanort smirked cunningly, lowering his weapon. "But it turns out you're a hard man to predict."

"Me, I'm dishonest." Riku said pridefully, tugging at the rope flourishingly. "And a dishonest man, you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly...stupid."

"**Did you understand a word of that?**" Dark Sonic questioned confused.

"_Actually..._" Sonic replied, grinning slightly. "_I did._"

Riku and Sonic glanced at one another for a short moment, giving a short nod in response to the unasked question. Then without warning, the silver-haired teen relinquished the rope and threw out his hand, calling forth a mass of pure darkness to his hand. When the shadows died, Riku relished the return of his Keyblade. It was a weapon similar to Espio's Soul Eater, but with an angelic wing at the teeth of the blade, an angel and devil wing forming a hand-guard around the handle, and the Heartless symbol acting as the Keychain. As Riku raised his weapon in preparation to strike, the rope binding the heroes was snapped apart and the small army jumped to either side of the silver-haired hero – their weapons drawn. Xehanort should have expected this kind of treachery, but this straight-forward assault wasn't something Riku would plan. As it turns out, he was right. When the army of darkness least expected it, the corpse of Marine suddenly sprung to light and jumped to her feet with her jaded orb in hand, emitting a bright wave of emerald-green light. Because the Darkseeker's ultimate weakness was light, the Half-Heartless were burned into ashes, setting the cobalt hedgehog free from their grip. Xehanort was partially blinded by the attack, but his sharp senses alerted him of the path of footsteps trending behind him. The Seeker of Darkness sharply thrusted his serrated weapon behind his back, blocking off a direct blow from Sonic's Kiryu. And before the Keyblade Master could attempt a second swing, Xehanort grabbed him by his quills and tossed the hedgehog over his shoulder. Fortunately, Storm was there to catch him in his arms.

"Nice save, buddy." Sonic grinned gratefully.

"Are you all right, mate?" Marine asked worried, hugging her surrogate brother around the waist. "I thought I was never going to see you again, mate."

"Exactly how many times have I been captured?" Sonic said jokingly, looking to Riku's direction. "I gotta say, you're a complicated guy. If I didn't know the code hidden in that sentence, I would've really believed you turned against us."

"I do my best." Riku said confidently.

"Well, I can see you are rather busy at the moment." Eggman chuckled nervously as he started backing up. "So, if you don't mind, I'll just be...showing myself out!"

"Coward." Xehanort muttered angrily as Eggman disappeared into the Corridors of Darkness.

"It's over, Xehanort!" Sora proclaimed, gripping the Kingdom Key in his hands. "You're outnumbered and out matched!"

"I have worked tirelessly for many decades, seeking to the ultimate truth." Xehanort said malevolently, raising his dark Keyblade across his chest. "I will unlock the gateway to Kingdom Hearts and I will not be denied by a bunch of children and their filthy pets. This will be the last time we face each other, Sora."

* * *

**Dark Master: Xehanort**

It was seven against one and the odds seemed to fall in favor with the Sonic Team and their newest allies. But their opponent was also a legendary Keyblade Master – one who has had a century's worth of skill and experience. This was going to be their greatest fight yet. Sonic made an involuntary movement forward, but Riku grabbed him by his shoulder and pushed him back. Instead, the silver-haired teen took the initiative to charge forward and jumped off the ground with his Way to Dawn raised over his head only a few feet away. But the Dark Master threw his hand to the right in the direction of the palm trees, which stretched out of place and snapped at the teenaged warrior, sending him flailing into the ocean. The team could no longer hold back. While Riku struggled to regain his breath after colliding hard with the water surface, Sora took the lead for Xehanort, crossing his own Keyblade with the one in Sonic's possession. Xehanort glared ominously. The Seeker of Darkness took a deep breath of air through his nostril and expelled it from his mouth in the form of a miniature typhoon. While the others were easily blown away, Storm's massive bulk kept him rooted and pushed forward with some difficulty, using the shield to block the gust out of his eyes. Knowing that the wind wasn't going to be enough to hold off the albatross, Xehanort cut off the gale and watched the Babylonian guard stumbled forward from the sudden shift. The Dark Master decided to change tactics and summoned a small sphere of molten fire in his hand, tossing it lightly into the albatross's shield. Though it wasn't a fast pitch, the collision between them pelted Storm backwards and sent him skipped across the sand beach until collapsing into the docks.

"Storm!" Angel yelled worried, rushing over to her best friend. She carefully lifted the albatross's head, noticing the glazed look in his eyes. "Strom, are you all right? If you're fine, say something stupid!"

"But I don't like pickle-rats." Storm mumbled disoriented.

"He's fine." Angel said dryly, dropping his head.

"That's some power." Sonic said impressively. "Still think we can take him?"

"If we work together, we can't lose!" Sora shouted confidently.

"Then you have sealed your fate." Xehanort proclaimed darkly.

Silver stepped in front of the dual Keyblade Masters – his dragon staff surged with a massive collection of electricity. The Babylonian mystic released the lightning strike through the dragon's teeth, which send Xehanort's initiative to stab his Keyblade into the sand. Unexpectedly though, the Dark Master threw his left hand to snatch the lightning strike out of their air and circulates the voltage through his arm and into his chest. Sensing the stunned expression from the hedgehog, Xehanort transfers the lightning through his right arm and releases it from his fingertips back to its original caster. Thankfully, the electric bolt only exploded at Silver's feet, causing the mystic warrior to tumble backwards by five feet. Xehanort recollected his Keyblade from the sand while keeping a careful eye on the smoke cloud that formed from the lighting strike. The Dark Master was forced to react when a length snake of emerald-green energy erupted from the smog and twisted his weapon to cut the glowing serpent down the middle. But in his moment of distraction, Sora dropped from the sky with his Kingdom Key clutched tightly in his grip, only a few feet away for the silver-haired master. But Xehanort's experience served him best. The Seeker of Darkness swiftly stepped back before his spiky-haired adversary stabbed the ground and held his hand in the direction of his worthy opponent. And with a sharp thrust upwards, a pillar of solid earth exploded beneath Sora's feet, throwing him harshly into the surface of the raised platform. Once regaining his bearings, the spiky-haired teen looked over the edge and saw the beach fourty feet below him – then Xehanort appeared via Corridor of Darkness.

"For years, it has been our destiny to face each other." Xehanort proclaimed; he and Sora circled each other with their weapons ready. "And though I might not have known, it was always you that would be destined to equal me – maybe surpass me."

"It doesn't have to be this way, Xehanort." Sora said hopefully. "You were born on the islands just like the rest of us – we understand why you wanted to leave this place. But I know that deep down; there is some piece of goodness left in your heart."

"I should have expected this." Xehanort said dryly. "You want to settle things peacefully without having to take the life of another man. But you have played a hand in the deaths of many – you are just as corrupt as I am."

"I'm nothing like you." Sora sighed; his eyes narrowed.

"So you wish to believe." Xehanort muttered.

And the two great adversaries went back into the battle. Back on the ground, the Sonic, Marine, Angel, and Riku were left at the base of the stone pillar – Silver and Storm were still weak from earlier. Even from this distance, they could hear the echoes of clashing metal ringing from above. The group of four didn't hesitate to start climbing the structure and, thanks to her genetic enhancements, Angel was already halfway there by the time the others made it ten feet. Unfortunately, even as Xehanort's Keyblade crossed with Sora's, the Dark Master could feel an intrusive presence climbing the plateau. No one was going to interfere. The Seeker of Darkness pushed against the Keyblade and stepped back until the beach was visible below the edge of the structure. Xehanort twitched his free hand in a full circle towards the sky until suddenly snapping in the direction of the ocean with sense of domination in his eyes. The salty water bended to the will of the master and formed a steady stream of liquid to serpentine around the towering plateau. Being the one most accommodated to Xehanort's darkness, Riku was the only one that could feel the Dark Master's power at work and craned his head over his right shoulder. His eyes were wide with panic at the sight of the living liquid.

"Hit the deck!" Riku screamed.

Sonic and Marine were instantaneous to release their hold on their wall, follow Riku's example as the powerful flood washed over their heads. However, Angel was too far up the cliffside to take any notice to Riku's warning, leaving her defenseless when the slithering waters as they collided from the side. The pink experiment fruitlessly struggled against the raging tide as she was carried through the air and settled close to the clouds above. However, the remaining three members of the Sonic Team recaptured their grip of the plateau and Riku stabbed his Way to Dawn to release a small sphere of dark energy towards the skyline. The silver-haired warrior's magic managed to penetrate the water surface and nestled against Angel's chest, ripping the water snake apart as a mirror-like shield formed around her. During the fight between the two Keyblade Masters, Xehanort had managed to gain the upper hand as he kicked at Sora's chest, forcing him to the ground. However, his attention was refocused by the dark force emanating from the sky. He managed to catch the slightest glimpse of Riku's shield before the one he tried to protect dropped from the sky with her twin dagger crossed in a sinister manner. Glaring mildly, the Dark Master raised his hand around his mouth and issues a powerful wave of orange-red flames from his throat into the sky. The pink experiment didn't really find this much of a challenge and curled herself into a ball, allowing the fire to wash over her. The Dark Master was clearly stunned as the fire merely licked against her fur, causing no visible damage to the abnormal creature. In his moment of distraction, Sora kicked the back of Xehanort's ankles, forcing him to his knees. This left a window of opportunity. Still wrapped tightly in her ball, Angel purged through the sea of flames and collided with the Dark Master's forehead to throw the evil Keyblade Master on his back. The pink experiment uncurled and skidded to a halt at Sora's side, grinning madly with pride. And by the time Xehanort had managed to push himself back to his feet, the remaining three members of the Sonic Team had managed to beat the climb and stood on either side of their spiky-haired friend.

"How'd you guys get up here so fast?" Sora asked curiously.

"Oh, we just had Marine make a giant bird with that glowy thingy." Riku shrugged.

"**Why didn't we think of that before?**" Dark Sonic questioned tiresomely.

"_Um...the thrill of adventure?_" Sonic excused feebly.

"**I hate you.**" Dark Sonic scowled.

"_I know._" Sonic hung his head.

"Whatcha gonna do now, mate?" Marine smiled confidently. "Five against one – we've gotcha pinned down good."

"Then we'll have to even the odds." Xehanort said ominously.

This left general confusion in the air, which provided Xehanort with the temporary advantage. The Seeker of Darkness once again revealed his prowess as the Keyblade Master as he ducked down and stabbed both hands into the plateau floor. Parallel cracks formed in the ground and shattered the cliffside into three parts, separating Riku and Angel on the left, Sonic and Marine, on the right, and leaving Sora in the middle. Reacting on instinct, The Keyblade Masters stabbed their weapons into the side of the rock to prevent their freefall, but the girls weren't as fortunate. As the silver-haired teen climbed back into the fight, Sonic looked over his shoulder as Marine and Angel spiraled closer to the sand. The cobalt hedgehog was soon able to breathe easy as Silver and Storm quickly jumped below and captured their friends safely. Now there was only one thing left to do. The cobalt Keyblade Master crawled back over the edge and suddenly rolled to his right as Xehanort's weapon swiped into view. As his near-miss with the hedgehog, the Dark Master twisted himself around to defend himself as Riku made an accurate stab to his heart, nearly throwing the master off his guard. After his initiative attack failed, Riku dropped down and swiped his foot across the ground, only for his former to jump open the swipe with relative ease. Xehanort saw an opportunity to make a downwards stab, but Riku performed an effective windmill on the ground not only to throw off the attack, but to enable him safe footing on his feet. The silver-haired teen once again attempted another stab, only to have it warded off by the master.

"So what now, Riku?" Xehanort questioned solemnly. "Are we to be locked into a never-ending battle until judgment day has passed?"

"Or you could just surrender." Riku suggested.

The Dark Master didn't seem to find the option likeable and threw off the teen before kicking his chest. At the moment, Xehanort turned and ducked away as Sonic appeared from behind, narrowly clipping the master's silver locks. The Seeker of Darkness as effectively more suitable than combat than Mephiles, which brought up the question of how they were dimensional counterparts. Maybe he was missing something? Either way, the cobalt hedgehog slashed and stabbed left and right, hopeful o find an open space in Xehanort's defenses when repelling his strikes. But Xehanort proved his worth as a master by parrying all of the hedgehog's blow with relative ease while maintaining a strong defense with no chances for an opening. But in the corner of his eye, the Dark Master could see Sora slowly moving from his left side, most likely trying to ambush him while he was busy fighting Sonic. How amusing. Xehanort effortlessly sidestepped one of Sonic's wild stabs and grappled the hedgehog's wrist as he passed by, sharply throwing the blue rodent over his shoulder. A pained grunt followed by a short thud, Sonic and Sora were thrown against each other after a collision between their thick skulls. The spiky-haired teen was rubbing his sore forehead was a few feet behind his hedgehog counterpart, who was suffering from a similar pain. Unfortunately, the feeling was driven from Sonic's mind as he stared down at the dark Keyblade pressing tightly against his chest.

"You don't have to pay for their mistakes." Xehanort proclaimed darkly. "Release your heart to me and I will spare your life – teach you the true power of the Keyblade."

"And sacrifice everyone I love?" Sonic growled angrily. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather be stuck in Hell with Broly and those other guys I killed before I would help you take Kingdom Hearts."

"**Yes, it would break your little heart if something were to happen to Blaze.**" Dark Sonic said snidely.

"_You know, I am sick and tired of having this conversation every ten minutes!_" Sonic screamed exasperatedly. "_I know I made a mistake and I intend to fix it – soon! But right now isn't the best time._"

"**I'm just saying.**" Dark Sonic stated forcefully. "**The sooner you get it over with, the better you will feel. And then I can have more breathing room in this deathtrap.**"

"You seem to be struggling within your own mind." Xehanort said coldly. "Allow me to put your burdened soul at ease."

The cobalt hedgehog knew what was coming next and quickly snapped his eyes closed as the Dark Master stabbed his weapon further into his chest. A loud _clang_ echoed. All four Keyblade Master were taken back when Xehanort's chosen weapon rebounded off of the hedgehog's skin, which had transformed suddenly in the split-second. Instead of finding smooth, cobalt-blue fur, Sonic looked down and discovered that his skin had turned an jade-green color and was coated in steel-hard scales. Sonic was confused at first, but then realized this had to be the Keychain ability of the Kiryu.

"Dragon scales." Sonic smiled gleefully. "Sweet..."

"Enough of this!" Xehanort roared. The silver-haired master punched his fist into the ground, blowing out a current of around him to throw all the warriors to the edge. "For too long have I been denied what is rightfully mine. I have gone farther than any man has dared to venture, I have accomplished many trails that are beyond even your wildest imaginations. And yet...I have never been allowed to uncover the final truth: what is Kingdom Hearts!"

"You may be a great master..." Sora grunted, forcing himself to his feet. "But Kingdom Hearts will never accept you."

"What do you know?" Xehanort glared.

"Kingdom Hearts is made of light and darkness fueled by the hearts of everyone in the worlds." Sora stated seriously, weakly lifting his Kingdom Key out in front. "We already know that much. But the final secret of Kingdom Hearts is something you could never understand: friendship."

"Friendship?" Sora scoffed.

"King Mickey told me the truth about Kingdom Hearts a long time ago." Sora proclaimed. "Kingdom Hearts is created from everyone join together into heart. Kingdom Hearts would never accept you because you only care about yourself – you're selfish, cold-hearted and wouldn't lift a finger to help others. That's why you can't beat me."

"Let me guess: your friends are your power." Xehanort said mockingly.

"That's right." Sora smiled proudly. "That's why I win."

"You arrogant whelp!" Xehanort growled.

Whipping his malevolent Keyblade at his side, Xehanort charged forward to meet Sora halfway in the center of the plateau. A mutual dislike shared between them for years had been brought together for this final moment. Once within range, the duo Keyblade Master swung their weapons across with all their might and clashed with a ringing click of metal. The world fell silent. Sonic watched in awe, never noticing the broken teeth of the Keyblade dropped directly between his legs. Sora and Xehanort stood with their back against each other five feet from one another – the clutched their weapons for dear life. And finally...the Dark Master relinquished his broken weapon to the darkness. The silver-haired man dropped to his knees in remorse, directing his focus to the starry sky – tears were visible in the corner of his eyes.

"Kingdom Hearts..." Xehanort gasped. "Why have you forsaken me?"

And he fell forward, vanished into the darkness forevermore.

**Xehanort: Defeated**

* * *

With Xehanort's downfall, the island was returned to its natural state, allowing the seven heroes to regain their home and their energy. Although Storm was still a little confused, no one really noticed the difference. In addition to restoring the secondary island to its natural state, Sora could see the mainland off in the distance, meaning that that dark spell cast over the island was broken. Feeling immensely proud of themselves, the Sonic Team and friends were starting to make their way back to the ship when noticed a familiar redhead running down the shoreline.

"Sora!" Kairi cried happily, embracing the spiky-haired hero.

"Hey, I risked my life, too, ya know." Riku said jokingly; Kairi kicked him in the knee. "Yow! What was that for?"

"For making me worried?" Kairi scolded. Sora was laughing until the redhead turned an kicked him in the shin. "And that's for agreeing to his stupid plan! I was so scared about what happened to you, I thought I was going to die!"

"But we had to do it to stop Xehanort." Sora winced.

"I know..." Kairi sniffed, tearing up slightly. The boys were thrown off-guard as their female friend grabbed them around them neck and clung to them for dear life. "I already lost you guys once before. Don't ever do that again."

"We promise, Kairi." Riku said seriously. "Nothing will ever happen."

"So what are you guys gonna do now that Xehanort's gone?" Storm asked curiously.

"I seriously doubt Xehanort's gone for good." Riku proclaimed, releasing the girl's hold. "He's survived worse than that – he'll be back eventually."

"And we still have to help everyone that's connected to me." Sora nodded in a justified manner. "So when we meet him again, we'll be ready."

Sonic offered a confident grin, which the spiky-haired teen was only proud to return – they were definitely more alike than they thought. However, the sentimental moment was broken when Riku's Way to Dawn suddenly appeared in his hand and presented itself with a familiar glow – Sonic knew what came next. Holding his Keyblade in front of him, Sonic's mind wandered into another dimension, where only the Way to Dawn's light shined. The twilight sword emitted a beam of light into the sky and formed into the shape of a keyhole. Sonic thrusted his chosen weapon forward and unleashed the Keyblade power to strike at the Keyhole, unlocking the next gateway. The Keyblade Master's mind was sharply thrusted back into reality.

"Looks like you better be getting back to your worlds." Sora said happily.

"Guess so." Sonic shrugged. "But if we ever figure out this dimension thing works, we'll come by and visit some time."

"We'd like that." Riku crossed his arms and smiled. "We really would."

"Catch ya later, Captain Riku." Marine saluted giddily.

"Good luck, Captain Marine." Riku said jokingly, returning the salute.

The rambunctious raccoon giggled before following her friends down the shoreline. Meeting Sora, Riku, and Kairi was a great reminder to Sonic of his friendship shared between Espio and Amy. And if their dimensions were truly similar, then he could feel assured knowing that he would see them again very soon. But at the moment, the Sonic Team had one last problem to deal with...

"Where'd we drop our Gears?" Angel asked cluelessly.

"Oh no..." Silver mumbled.

* * *

**And unusual journey comes to a striking end and a hopeful beginning. Will Sonic be reunited with his home and friends? Will the truth of Kingdom Hearts and the X-Blade be revealed? And what is the Orders next move? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

Note: Greetings fellow writers and readers. I have come here with a request. A good friend and current student of mine, Force Walker, is in need of some new readers to examine and review his stories. I know he might not be much at first, but your advise and critical views could be just the thing he needs to become a better writer. I am not going to force you to read his stories, only that you put it into consideration.

Thank you.

* * *

And now it's time for everyone's favorite game show: World Choice!

A) Chao Garden/Hollow Bastion

B) The Emptiness

VOTE NOW!


	34. Sacrifice, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Thirty-Two: Sacrifice, Part 1

"Wow! What an amazing and daring escape that was!" Sonic exclaimed excitedly.

The scenery returns to the original dimension belong to the Sonic Team as they ripped through the paranormal wormhole in a burst of vermillion light. However, something about the heroic team of five was...awkwardly different. For some apparent reason, Sonic was wearing clothing similar to Sora's with his quills spiked in the same manner. Storm was entirely wrapped in bandages with a plastic eye on his forehead, Silver had a bundle of arrows in his backside, and Angel and Marine were dressed a beavers. Amazingly enough, this isn't the strangest thing they've done.

"I can't believe the wormhole was buried fifty feet underground." Angel snickered as she pulled off the costume. "Or that it was guarded by an eight-headed pirate squid."

"**I liked the part when the vampire wombats shot lasers at us.**" Dark Sonic commented.

"_Really?_" Sonic replied. "_I though the zombie eyeball was the best._"

"Yes, yes, it was very exciting." Silver said sarcastically, putting the arrows out of his butt. "Now let's never speak of this again."

"So, where to next, mates?" Marine questioned cluelessly.

"I think we should head back to Hollow Bastion." Sonic suggested, retrieve a folded piece of paper from his pouch. "I found this when we were on Babylon Garden and figure it might belong to Sonic-Chao's book. Restoring the little guy's memory is one of my top priorities."

"You sure do care about people." Storm said admirably.

"And that could be a big problem in the future." Silver proclaimed, ignoring the confused gaze of his friend. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but you really should learn not to meddle in the affair of other worlds. Lately, that's all you've been doing. It's only by some amazing miracle that most of them don't realize the existence of other worlds."

"Protecting the world border..." Storm began.

"Order." Angel said helpfully.

"Order is important." Storm continued sheepishly. "But shouldn't the Keyblade Master be helping people? Especially when the Heartless and Order XIII is involved."

"He can do that without interfering." Silver proclaimed, retrieving the navigator from his quills. "Anyway, there's nearby world that just showed up on the map. We can stop by there on the way to Hollow Bastion."

"I hope there's more vampire wombats!" Marine shouted giddily.

"Never speak of it again!" Silver screamed.

Angel, Marine, and Storm exchanged a quick laugh at the begrudged hedgehog's expense, never noticing their leader's impassive expression. This was not the first time Silver had berated his student for tampering with the balance of the world, but he just couldn't help it. As a Keyblade Master, he was supposed to destroy all threats in the worlds without getting involved with the natives – he was supposed to be secluded. But that wasn't how Sonic operated. Even if he was scolded by his superiors, the cobalt hedgehog knew you couldn't truly protect the worlds without getting involved with the lives of others. So why couldn't they understand that? The Keyblade Master was so deep in his thoughts that he barely noticed the rest of his team making a dive towards a passing world, which was unusually grey.

"Are you all right, mate?" Marine blinked curiously to the hedgehog.

"I don't know, Marine." Sonic mumbled. "I honestly don't know."

* * *

_123_** – The – **_456_** – Emptiness – **_789_

When the Sonic Team touched down on the world, it was quite possibly the most depressing site they've ever seen. The sun was completely blotted out by the steely-grey clouds and the air was thick with mixture of smog and – Sonic hoped he was wrong – blood. The world looked like it was once a prosperous city, but was now reduced to ruins for what seemed like several years. The concrete sidewalks were ripped away at random, the towering buildings were barely supported by the weak braces, and the streets were littered with debris of metal, rock, and paper. It was like a war zone. But one of the more noticeable differences was the effect it placed on the Keyblade Master and his friends upon landing. The Sonic Team had somehow been shrunk to a miniscule size – Marine was as tall as a discarded battery.

"Any clue why we're midgets?" Storm asked confused.

"It must be the magic in our weapons from Light and Dark Gaia." Silver theorized aloud. "If you remember, I had to use a spell before to allow us to adapt to the environment of certain worlds like Mahri Nui and Hogwarts. Our weapons still have magical properties from Light and Dark Gaia and must have instantaneously..."

"Stop talking!" Angel screamed, knocking Silver on his butt. "You just really love to hear yourself."

"In layman's terms, we change when we go to new worlds." Sonic said simply; Silver nodded disappointedly. "But that doesn't really make any sense. Why are we so small when everything else is so big? If the people on this world are large enough to make apartment and skyscrapers, why aren't we normal sized?"

"Yeah, where are the people anyway?" Marine asked while sitting on a marble.

"Uh...guys." Storm called hesitantly.

There was a small quiver in the albatross's voice which could only mean bad news. The captain of the guard was standing a good distance away from the group and staring at a broken-down truck smashed against a bent lamppost with two wheels missing and shattered glass. The left-hand door was left ajar and Storm was standing under the open gap, staring disturbing into the passenger seat. The rest of the team cluttered around him out of curiosity. Sonic quickly slapped his hands over Marine's eyes. Two humans, most likely a mother and child, were leaning against the broken windowsill, drenched in pools of their own dried blood. While Angel kindly offered to take Marine away from the site, the three men jumped into the rusted vehicle, climbing the leather seating and dashboard. Silver used his own telekinetic powers to surround himself in a turquoise aura and floated loftily around the deceased pair.

"Bullets." Silver stated simply. "And by the looks over it, over three dozen of them. Whoever did this clearly didn't want to leave anything to chance."

"You think the Heartless did this?" Storm questioned.

"The Heartless don't kill." Sonic proclaimed knowingly. "They steal the hearts from their victims, but they never kill. Don't you remember what Nyrox said? The Heartless steal the hearts and those hearts become Heartless themselves. But the body and soul left behind can still become a Nobody or just disappear into the darkness."

"**When did you get this smart?**" Dark Sonic said surprisingly.

"_What? I pay attention sometimes._" Sonic replied insulted.

"So if the Heartless aren't in charge...!" Angel shouted from a distance; she had sensitive hearing. "Why does this place look like it's been dead for a while?"

That was a puzzling question. There was no evidence that the Heartless had even remotely stayed on this world for a short period of time. If there heart of the world had been taken, it would have been sucked away to the End of the World like all the others that were taken during Mephiles siege. But this world wasn't destroyed...just empty. A thought occurred to the cobalt hedgehog as he skipped over the broken glass of the windshield and slid down the hood of the trunk. Sonic touched back to the fragmented pavement and dashed down the street, brushing past Marine and Angel. The Keyblade Master ignored the calls of his friends until his had reached a patch of ashy-grey grass that must have belonged to a small garden at some point. He kneeled down and placed his palm against the dead plant, closing his eyes to focus.

"Uh...whatcha doing, mate?" Marine asked as the group stopped.

"The Keyblade Master has the power to find the Keyholes, right?" Sonic stated; the team nodded silently. "Those Keyholes are the only connection to the hearts of different worlds. So I figured: If I can feel the Keyholes, maybe I can feel the heart, too."

"You can do that?" Storm asked strangely. "Wow, you're even weirder than I thought." Sonic snapped his head back with a shocked expression. "N-Not that it's a bad thing! Really!"

"_I'm not weird._" Sonic thought pouting, returning to his focus. "_Am I?_"

"**I always thought you were a freak.**" Dark Sonic sniggered.

Sonic's expression faltered, but quickly shrugged off the comment. If the Keyblade Masters were capable of connecting to the hearts of different worlds, then there might be a chance he could find out what happened. For a long moment, nothing out of the ordinary occurred as Sonic tried to focus all of his mind and heart into reaching out to the world. But all the Keyblade Master could feel was an empty sensation in the pit of his heart – it was cold and dreary. A harsh realization fell over Sonic as he took a moment to collect himself before standing in attention to face his friends.

"Angel..." Sonic said hoarsely. "This place has been dead for a while."

"What are ya talking about?" Angel said quizzically

"The heart of the world." Sonic said with remorse. "It's still here, but it's been dead for a long time, probably before the Heartless were even a threat. Whatever did this completely wiped out all life on this planet."

"So if this world's already been through the apocalypse..." Storm mumbled, staring and pointing into a different direction. "Then whaddya think is doing that?"

Drawing by a strange curiosity, the Sonic Team grouped around their largest comrade and followed his line of vision to a large mound of steel, concrete, and other random objects. A small flickering light silhouetted against the uprooted pavement...and it was moving. Someone was still alive. Not even taking the moment to question or contemplate a course of action, Sonic was already skipped between the rocks, never noticing the large machine head as he passed by. The light was moving in his direction. The Keyblade Master was swiftly approaching his target when something hard smacked against his face as he walked close to a discarded piece of metal plating. In what could possibly be his most childish moment, Sonic was rolling and squirming on the ground with his hands holding his forehead.

"_Why is it always the face?_" Sonic exclaimed in his mind.

"**You make yourself an easy target.**" Dark Sonic laughed.

"_I hate you._" Sonic scowled.

"**That's my line.**" Dark Sonic replied nonchalantly.

"You ok, mate?" Marine asked as the rest of the team finally arrive. "Crickey, that's gonna leave a mark."

"Don't worry; his thick skull absorbed the blow." Angel taunted; Sonic glowered.

"Whoever you are, come on out!" Silver commanded, drawing his staff in front. "You are completely surrounded and outnumbered!"

The attacker seemed to have taken a moment to consider his options – a quick shuffle was briefly heard. Slowly and carefully, the unknown assailant edged closer into the opening, holding what appeared to be the head of a socket wrench for protection. It was like nothing the team had ever seen. The creature had a human-like shape, but was necessarily human itself. Its skin was made from a well-stitched burlap material with some noticing stitching at where its arms connected. Two lenses formed eyes, an open rip for the mouth, its hands and feet were molded from wood and metal, and a zipper stretched down its front. From the reflection given off by the piece of metal, Marine spotted a carefully stitched number '9' on its back. The doll-like creature hesitantly look a step forward as Silver had commanded, though held the socket wrench in any case it needed to defend itself.

"Any clue what we're looking at?" Storm asked cluelessly.

"A stitchpunk." Silver blinked surprisingly.

"A what-punk?" Marine repeatedly cluelessly.

"A stitchpunk – a living doll." Silver explained. "I read about them once when Master Nyrox first took me in. They didn't really go much into detail, but it said that a body can be created from any material and a soul is needed as the main piece. It didn't really explain how the process worked."

"Oh, that's too bad." A new voice chirped; the heroes screamed and jumped in shock. "It would have been nice to have a clue about our origins. But I guess important things like that don't come so easily.

The newcomer was another stitchpunk, but one seemingly older and more collected than the skittish one that attacked Sonic. Its skin was molded from an older material similar to the younger stitchpunk with a vest-like skin on its chest tied by a single shoelace. Its hands and feet were made of metal – not as detailed as the younger one – and its eyes seem more fade with the inclusion of the metal plate on the back of its head. Much like the newer stitchpunk, this character had a drawn number '2' on its back. The enigmatic stitchpunk was wearing a strange hat of sorts with a miniscule candle on top and a glass lens on the side. At least they knew where the light had come from.

"Oh my, it's almost too good to be true." The elder murmured, dashing around Sonic for a better look. "Not like anything I've ever seen in my time, but still very organic. Sweeping quills indicate speed, strong legs mean you're a fast runner, and I suppose the firm yet toned muscles in the arms must mean you fight with a weapon often. A sword perhaps?"

"How'd you know all that?" Marine gasped amazingly.

"I've seen my far share of organics to know much about them." The elder smiled kindly. "Of course, not that I've seen any in these recent years. Seeing another organic fills an old bag like me full of joys." His optics wander over to the younger stitchpunk. "And then there's you."

"..." The youngling was silent.

"Yes, I always hoped." The elder said joyfully, examining the youngling. "So much thought. The details...carved wood; molded copper." The youngling found this as a moment to speak, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you can't speak. If you wouldn't mind opening up for a second."

The youngling stitchpunk seemed confused on the matter, but willing pulled down his sipper for the elder to see. He seems to have gained his trust so easily. Sonic couldn't really blame him; the older stitchpunk gave off a general air of confidence. The two spent a moment with their examination until the elder looked away with thoughts clearly rattling in his brain. Not a moment later, the elder stitchpunk turned on his heels and motioned for the group to follow him. Since they didn't have anywhere else to go, the Sonic Team followed closely behind the elder, lighting the path with the flame of his candle hat. The area was so cold and silent – you could expect something to jump out at any moment.

"I hope you don't mind me asking." Storm said suddenly; Sonic and Marine jumped slightly. "Who are you?"

"Oh, that right." The elder chuckled whimsically. "I forgot to introduce myself. I am 2 and according to the marking on our silent friend's back, he is 9."

"2 and 9?" Angel repeated with her brow raised. "Those aren't names, those are numbers."

"You're one to talk, 624." Silver smirked; Angel growled.

"Our names are Sonic, Silver, Storm, Marine and Angel." Sonic responded to elder stitchpunk. "So what exactly happened to this world, anyway? What happened to all the people?"

"What "I'm afraid I'm not the best one to tell you." 2 replied, stopping in from of a forgotten doll. "Ah, this should do nice. Just need to find the record device, take a few copper wirings..." He continued mumbling to himself, digging through the frayed mass of wires and plastic until he retrieved what he needed. "That should do – Stop!"

2 was motioning to the younger 9, who was apparently holding a large bullet over his head, ready to smack it against the pavement. Sonic and Storm quickly grabbed their female companions and pulled them away while using his telekinetic powers to pull the metal shell out of his hands. With a thought, the Babylon mystic tossed the bullet over the mountains of gravel and wreckage into the distant emptiness. Consequently, the metallic ringing was enough to attract the attention of a nearby predator

"Maybe we should just leave things alone for a while, ok?" Sonic said to the stitchpunk.

"Curiosity is not a sin, 9." 2 said sympathetically. "Some things are better left where they lie. But if you look closely, these ruins are full of riches." The elder pushed through the zipper hole, settling the new material he collected into his younger companion. "Now, try to speak."

"2?" 9 said in a garbled tone. 2 attempted to readjust. "Silver...Angel...Marine...Storm?" Finally, the youngling stitchpunk settled on a voice that truly matched his body. "Sonic?"

"Whaddya know; I'm his first word." Sonic laughed, placing his hands behind his head.

"**So sad, isn't it?**" Dark Sonic said tauntingly.

"_Why do you always have to kill the mood?_" Sonic pouted.

"**When are you going to tell Silver the truth?**" Dark replied.

The conversation ended at that point. Meanwhile, 2 was still rummaging around the youngling stitchpunk's chassis, trying to check for any more necessary repairs until something caught his eye. 9 must have noticed the curiosity in the elder's optics and reached a hand inside to retrieve the unknown object for all to see. From what Sonic could see, it was a metal talisman with a golden rim and an orange center, clasped by three metal hinges. There was only three symbols on the face of the talisman and the Keyblade Master couldn't make out any importance in their shape or form. And seeing as how Silver wasn't boasting his knowledge of the mystic arts, he clearly didn't know what they meant either.

"I can't believe you found it." 2 sighed happily, taking the talisman carefully in his hand. "He's...he's always drawing this."

Against the joyful preaching of the elder stitchpunk, Sonic's ear twitched slightly from a sudden vibration of sound. His senses have always been more enhanced than most, so it didn't come as a surprise when Storm, Silver, and Marine didn't hear it. Angel's ear perk sudden and 9 also seemed to have received some small idea of what might be lurking in the shadows. Sonic's hands twitched with a steady indication of summoning the Kiryu for protection. The others still hadn't noticed. Suddenly, the sound became more audibly: it was a transparent hiss mingled with a miniscule roar. Everyone was finally aware that they weren't alone anymore and quickly drew their weapons – 2 was using an old surgical knife – but 9 was left defenseless.

"Quick...quick, go." 2 whispered urgently to the youngling. "Stay out of sight and out of mind."

9 was hesitant to leave them alone against the unknown, but there wasn't really much he could do in his current state. The youngling stitchpunk treaded silently into a broken tin can and slipped into the narrow holes to escape from sight. It was just them now. Sonic and Marine were standing back-to-back, Storm walk slowly with Angel standing on his shoulders, Silver was hanging loftily in the air, and 2 was skittishly walked back into the pile of discarded objects. The elder stitchpunk had some clue what they were facing, but was too scared to explain the situation out loud. The elder stitchpunk switched his focus from left to right very often with some hope of catching sight of the beast before it could make its attack. A low growl emanated from behind. The elder stitchpunk stiffened sharply and slowly craned his head around before a sharp claw lashed through the air. The Sonic Team was drawn back into the middle of the barren site when they spotted 2 tumbling unceremoniously across the ground – his weapon lost and his lens glass broken.

"2, are you all right?" Storm asked concerned.

"The beast..." 2 wheezed. "The beast..."

A repeated series of thuds snapped the team's attention ahead of them. The beast was actually a cybernetic feline with thin steel joints that provided the base with many serrated blades exposed from its back, and an actual cat's skull harboring a single red optical eye. The Cat-Beast raised itself to full height, effortlessly five times eight times the size of Sonic.

"Why can't we ever fight something small?" Sonic whined.

* * *

**Cybernetic Feline: Cat-Beast**

The Cat-Beast hissed and snarled in the most malevolent manner, cautiously curving around the suspicious group. Much like 2 and 9, the Cybernetic Feline had not seen organic life in several years. This was new to it, but held no relative importance. The Cat-Beast turned its head in a manner of confusion, only to feint them with a quick slash of its metallic claws. Storm quickly grabbed Marine and 2 before pulling back out of the Cat-Beast's range. Angel, Silver, and Sonic easily ducked away and the cobalt hedgehog was the first one to go on the offensive. Using the machine's outstretched hand to his advantage, Sonic jumped onto the Cat-Beast's limb and dash towards the main body, scraping the Kiryu against its shell. Surprisingly enough, the sharp-scaled teeth of the Keyblade showed no visual effect against the Cat-Beast's armor. In retaliation to the hedgehog's advances, the Cybernetic Feline swiped at the Keyblade wielder with its free claw, which Sonic easily jumped over. While he was still hovering in midair, he noticed that the Cat-Beast's armor resisted even its own attack. This machine was resilient. The Cobalt hedgehog carefully touched down on the Cat-Beast's skull and was forced to cling on all-fours as it began snapping its head in random directions. When the Cybernetic Feline realized that the hedgehog would not release its grip, the Cat-Beast lowered its head and charged head-on into the nearest concrete mound. Fortunately, Sonic managed to jump away to safety moments before the Cat-Beast collided, snickering under his breath as the machine dropped heavily to the ground.

"Heh! Stupid robot!" Sonic laughed. The Cat-Beast's lower limb snapped sideways and smashed against his chest, throwing him into a box of melted chocolates. "How did I not see that coming?"

"**You're not exactly the brightest tool in the shed.**" Dark Sonic insulted.

"_If you're supposed to be me, then why do you keep picking on me?_" Sonic frowned.

"**I'm the smart half.**" Dark Sonic answered simply.

"Meega nala questa!"

The Cybernetic Feline had been cleaning the scrap off its metallic skeleton when the exclamation ripped through the atmosphere. Before the Cat-Beast knew what was happened, the machine was lifted off the ground back its back leg and thrown harshly on its back. The Cat-Beast sneered, using its singular eye to locate the source of its grievance. Angel was boldly standing on the Cybernetic Feline's chassis with his twin daggers poised on either side; a confident smirk stretched across her face. The Cat-Beast did not attempt to roll back on its feet and instead swiped its claws across its chest, chasing the bobbing pink koala-like creature across the surface. Angel nimbly ducked and dodged at all the right moments, easily passing through the holes between its fingers after ever strike. And when the opportunity arose, the pink experiment skidded to a halt as the Cat-Beast made another swipe and grappled the machine by one of its fingers. Despite its immense size, the Cybernetic Feline was unable to withdraw its claw from the little monstrosity's grip. Angel grinned deviously. Using all the strength she had in her tiny body, the pink experiment pulled back and ripped the Cat-Beast's finger right out of its hand. The machine snapped its head back and roared, acting as if it was in some type of pain. Growing annoyed with the pink beast, the Cat-Beast proved its maneuverability and twisted its lower leg to grapple Angel from behind. And before the pink experiment could react, she was launched from the site and plowed head-first into a rotten apple core, which Storm, Marine, and 2 were standing next to.

"Uh...need any help?" Storm blinked.

"Yes, please." Angel replied meekly.

"All right." Storm grunted, withdrawing his shield. "Marine, get Angel out of there. I'll hold off the giant cat."

"You can't do this." 2 gasped nervously, grasping the albatross's arm. "You can't beat it. The only thing you can do is run."

"You don't know us very well." Storm grinned confidently. "We never run away from a fight."

2 only stood back and stare in amazement. Either these organics were very brave...or very stupid. So as Marine went to work prying her pink friend from the rotting fruit, Storm held his prized shield close to himself and stampeded ahead with a thunderous battle cry. He clearly wasn't one for sneak attacks. The Cat-Beast called his bluff and stabbed its conjoined fingers to meet with the charging Albatross. Much to the machine's amazement, its claw simply rolled off the shield and the hulky warrior was still pushing forward like nothing happened. Once close enough, the captain of the guard grabbed his shield by the edges and tossed it like a discus, throwing the weapon in a curving motion. The Cybernetic Feline didn't know how to calculate such a blunt tactic and was unprepared when the shield smacked against its skull, forming a small crack on the side. The machine hissed definitely and thrusted its claw forward when spotting the albatross without his defenses. However, Storm's shield returned in the similar manner of a boomerang and recaptured the weapon before the Cat-Beast could finish. The machine's razor-sharp nails were once again brushed aside, leaving its palm pressed against the face of the shield. This could still work. The Cat-Beast closed its hand around Storm to form a cage of sorts, lifting the defensive bird off the ground. The Cat-Beast clicked its skeletal teeth in a daring way, glaring at the annoyance through its singular eye.

"Uh...nice kitty." Storm mumbled nervously. "Y-you don't want to eat me. I'm all chewy and full of fat." A long awkward moment of silence passed. "I'M NOT FAT, I'M BIG BONED!"

"Dude, you're yelling at yourself!" Sonic called, still covered in sticky chocolate.

"That's what makes it worse!" Storm sobbed.

The Cybernetic Feline cocked its head in genuine confusion. Were organics always this stupid? However, its attention was drawn to an emerald-green spark radiating from behind a pile of litter. Throwing Storm over its shoulder, the Cat-Beast cautiously climbed the mound of trash and looked down on the other side. A large emerald-green box was sitting on the ground with a handle turning on the side, playing a whimsical tune. The Cybernetic Feline was drawn by curiosity and approached the box as the song was finishing. But when the last note of the song was finished, the top of the box snapped open and a spring-loaded boxing glove shot out and smacked the Cat-Beast six times in the face. The Cybernetic Feline fell on its back – its legs twitching randomly. Marine jumped out from her hiding place and grinned from ear-to-ear as she faced the Cat-Beast's unlighted eye.

"That was ripper, mate!" Marine laughed jubilantly. "Not so tough now, are ya, you big piece of scrap." She kicked the Cat-Beast's skull, which consequently reactivated the machine. "Uh...I meant that in the nicest way possible."

The Cat-Beast wasn't listening. Just as Marine started scrambling away for safety, the Mechanical Feline turned on its side and swung its right claw to stab its fingers around the raccoon, creating another cage. The Cat-Beast snarled lowly as it crouched down to meet with the raccoon's quivering eyes. And predictably, the Cat-Beast was distracted when a quick arrow of light pounded against its skull, turning its singular eye on the grey hedgehog floating in the distance.

"Try fighting someone who can fight back." Silver challenged.

The Cybernetic Feline was getting bored with its prey anyway. Release its prison around the raccoon, Cat-Beast crouched low to the ground like a lion ready to pounce on a zebra. Silver was already in quick succession of summoning his magical abilities into his staff, charging it for a necessary moment. Now under normal conditions, the Babylon mystic was patient and always waited until he had a good understand of his opponent. But this mechanized monster was different. Something about this machine made Silver feel...uncomfortable. And so when the Cat-Beast tapped its nail against the pavement suddenly, Silver nerves caused him to unintentionally release a bolt of lightning at the machine's claw. The Cybernetic Feline easily saw the attack and jumped to the left to stand on top of dented garbage can. Silver tried to anticipate its movements before swiped his staff skyward to create a row of rock spikes slithering in the direction of the Cat-Beast. Just as the hedgehog predicted, the Cybernetic Feline jumped into the air to avoid the assault. This was his chance. Silver set aside his staff for a moment and raised both hands to either side of him, fueling his connection to the darkness of the world. The Babylon mystic rarely dabbled with the element of darkness – explaining his weakness for it – but it was the greatest tool on this world at the moment. Using all of his strength to make contact, Silver felt a wave of relief wash over him as the shadows of the area spurred to life and raised themselves from the previous designations. While diving back to the ground to resume its attack, the Cat-Beast was thrown off guard when the shadows spread and stabbed themselves into the air, forming needle-like points at the end. Unfortunately, thing never work out the way they should. Because of Silver's ineptitude with the element of darkness, the shadow needles vanished half an inch before they could make connect with the Cat-beast's shell. The Cybernetic Feline landed without a trouble. The Babylon mystic, on the other hand, dropped back to the ground on his knees, panting heavily from exhaustion.

"Da-damn it." Silver coughed. "What the...he-hell was I...thinking?"

"Move it, idiot!"

Silver snapped his back up, finding the Cat-Beast overshadowing him with its claws raised to strike. Thankfully, Sonic dived into the scene and grabbed his teach before he was cut into ribbons like the pavement. The cobalt hedgehog was forced to lug the Babylon mystic around the corner of a flat tire, dropping him unceremoniously against the rubber.

"You know, for a smart guy, you really are stupid." Sonic commented.

"**That's like saying a stupid guys like you is smart.**" Dark Sonic proclaimed.

"_Tryin' ta talk here!_" Sonic snapped.

"I thought I could use the darkness of the environment to my advantage." Silver excused, cough momentarily. "But I just don't have the kind of control needed to pull it off."

"Obviously." Sonic rolled his eyes, looking cautiously around the corner. "The armor that thing has is too strong for our small weapons, so physical attacks are out. The only chance we have is to use magic. The only problem is that you're out of juice, Marine's probably hiding somewhere, and I'm not experience enough to do any damage."

"What about the Drive Orb the queen gave you?" Silver questioned.

"The Drive Orb?" Sonic blinked confused, taking a moment to collect the sky-blue sphere from his quills. "I don't really know how it's going to help. I haven't even tested it yet."

"Don't you think now would be a good time to try it?" Silver questioned.

"**He's got a good point.**" Dark Sonic nodded.

Mentally weighting his options, the cobalt hedgehog didn't really see the harm in trying. If this one was just as powerful as the Valor Form, there's a good chance that it'll assist them with the power needed to win. With that in mind, Sonic showed no hesitation as he slapped the orb against his heart, radiating the area with a sky-blue glow. The Cat-Beast was lurking around the street, trying to find its prey, when the glowing light exposed itself from behind a forgotten tire. These organics were not good at hiding. Not wasting time to collect its prey, the Cybernetic Feline bound itself over the piles of trash and craned its head around the rubber wheel. Next thing it knew, the Cat-Beast was propelled backwards by large square rock against its chest. The machine collided with a ripped mailbox, forming a dent in the metal before dropping back down to the dirt.

"Hey, lookin' for me?"

The Cat-Beast carefully clawed its way back to its feet, noting the significant change in Sonic's appearance. His once cobalt fur was now sky-blue with cobalt-blue flame on his wrists and ankles, hovering only and inch off the ground while twirling the Kiryu behind his back. Though it wasn't easily distinguished, it was made clear that this type of Drive Form used its attacks from a distance and that magic was its main element. Of course, the Cat-Beast wasn't the type to analyze such things, let alone understand them. The Cybernetic Feline took no consideration to hedgehog's transformation and lunged forward with its claws outstretched. Wisdom Sonic could only laugh at the savagery. The sky-blue hedgehog gripped his Keyblade firmly and stabbed the weapon forward, commanding a beam of light to fire from the teeth. The Cat-Beast was unprepared a suffered for its lack of defense when the light pierced through its right socket, breaking off a significant piece of its skull. The Cybernetic Feline tumbled heavily against the dirt, but Wisdom Sonic was showing no mercy for the monster. The magical hedgehog stabbed his weapon into the dirt and commanded a wave of concrete to carry the machine across the street and smash it into the wall. The Cat-Beast's body sparked from the punishment as its eye flicker on and off, barely catching sight of its opponent's next move. Unlike normal mages, Wisdom Sonic was able to collect enough electrical energy in half the time needed and stored it inside his legendary weapon.

"You know what curiosity did to the cat." Wisdom Sonic smirked pridefully.

"**Oh Higher Powers, that was terrible.**" Dark Sonic moaned.

Wisdom Sonic's eye twitched angrily. Without showing the slightest hesitation, the magical hedgehog released his pent-up energy and shot a single lightning bolt across the street. The quick flash of light not only pierced through the Cat-Beast's chest, but also through the wall and two buildings behind its. He was arguably as powerful as Nyrox. The Cat-Beast creaked from the momentary surge before its eye blink out and the machine corpse dropped forward with a heavy thud. Wisdom Sonic glided across the street – his feet didn't touch the ground – and stopped in front of the defeated machine, feeling immensely proud. And by the time Sonic and Silver separated, 2 and the other members of the Sonic Team had already joined at their side. 9 was still watching the seen from the safety of the can, feeling that something was amiss.

"I've never known organics to become something entirely different." 2 said amazed.

"I'm um...very special organic." Sonic answered cluelessly.

"So why do you think it was attacking us?" Angel asked curiously. "Is this the monster that destroyed this world?"

"No, no, no, no." 2 laughed happily. "The monster that did this is much worse, but I no longer a problem. This beast was the last of that monstrosity's seekers and it was looking for something." He pulled out the talisman that he had been holding. "I believe it wanted this."

"But why would they want something like...?"

A harsh creek filled the air, causing the heroes to stiffen in fright. Sonic was hesitant to do so, but he turned to look over his shoulder, hoping his fears were proven false. They weren't. The Cat-beast had recovered from the lightning strike with amazing durability and swiped its claws across the air, throwing the group in random directions. But what interested the beast the most was the item that 2 dropped when he smacked into the doll from earlier. The Cybernetic Feline picked up the talisman between its claws, examining it with great interest. All the while, 9 was forced to watch from a safe distance, hating himself for not being some use to them.

"I can't just leave this alone." 9 murmured.

However, his involuntary movements caused the can to move slightly, attracting the careful eye of the Cat-Beast. Still holding the talisman in its claw, the Cybernetic Feline silently trotted through the dirt and stopped at the opening of the cylinder. It could hear breathing. The machine stabbed its claw inside the opening of the can and could feel some movement inside the cylinder, barely escaping its range. The Cat-Beast knew that whatever was inside must have been very valuable to find and lowered its head to gaze inside. But before it could get a good look at the prized object, the Cat-Beast felt something being thrown against its skull and looked back. 2 was bravely grabbing peddles and throwing them at the monstrosity, knowing very well they were ineffective.

"Here, kitty, kitty." 2 mocked boldly. "Why don't you finish what you started with me?"

The Cat-beast showed no remorse as it menacingly prowled closer to the trembling stitchpunk, mostly taking some form of pleasure from its frightened form. And with a snap, 2 was captured between the beast's teeth, barely alive. The Cat-Beast quickly returned to its work with the can, only to discover whatever was inside was now missing. It didn't matter now. It got what it needed. Securing the talisman around its neck, the Cat-Beast jumped between the piles of gravel and litter, flying over the recovering members of the Sonic Team, and disappeared into the Emptiness. Sonic, who had pulled himself from a broken piece of slate, was watching sadly as the Cat-Beast disappeared across the border. But there was still some hope left. Off in the distance, the cobalt hedgehog could see a single factory with three smokestacks in the middle of the barren wasteland. He knew where it was going.

**Cat-Beast: Victorious**

* * *

"Is everyone all right?" Sonic asked, jumping down to join his team. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Besides my bruised pride, I'm ok." Angel muttered.

"**She's friends with a stuffed turkey, what pride does she have left?**" Dark laughed darkly; Sonic ignored.

"Where's 2, mate?" Marine questioned confused.

"That machine got him." Sonic answer, earning a gasp from his surrogate sister. "But don't worry; I know where it's head. There a factory a few miles away from here. If we go know, he might be able to sneak in and save 2 without anyone noticing."

"I don't think we should be doing that, Sonic." Silver grimaced.

"Why now?" Sonic exclaimed.

"Yeah, why not?" Marine repeated.

"When you think about, we shouldn't have stayed here in the first place." Silver explained, brushing his quills. "The Heartless are nowhere around here and this world have been dead for several years, according to 2. In all common sense, we should leave to find another world that might need our help."

"But we can't just leave our mates hanging!" Marine shouted.

"He's got a point, Marine." Angel nodded sadly. "2 and 9 may be our friends, but they're just dolls – they don't have hearts. And besides, it's the Keyblade Master's duty to protect the worlds that are still alive and save them from a similar fate. If we spend too much time here, there's a good chance our home worlds will die soon."

"But we can't just leave." Sonic said weakly, turning to his large friend. "Storm, say something."

"I'm sorry, Sonic." Storm answer, looking away mournfully. "But I have to agree with Silver and Angel on this one. This world is already gone and there's nothing we can do for it."

"Then it's decided." Silver said in a business-like manner. "We'll leave immediately. We'll forget we even came to this world."

If only it was that easy. After seeing the horror cast upon this world, it wasn't likely that Sonic or Marine were going to forget anytime soon. But Silver Angel, and Storm were different – they already had the experience of war. Why the three adamant members went ahead to collect their Gear, Sonic and Marine hung back for a moment to see where the Cat-beast had disappeared to. Though they didn't know it at the time, both heroes shared a silent agreement to save this world, even if their friends were against it. But unbeknownst to the Sonic Team, a hidden life-form was watching the group of five from a distance, using a magnified lens to gain a proper look. You could only imagine his shock when seeing five living organic flying on sleek boards into space. But out of the corner of his eye, the character spotted something else crawling around the Emptiness. It was 9, battered and beaten upon the ground.

"Oh my..."

* * *

**A difficult choice between life and death. Will Sonic return to save the already departed world? What is the true meaning behind the mysterious talisman? And what secret lay buried in the Emptiness? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

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	35. Chao of Memories, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Thirty-Three: Chao of Memories, Part 2

The scene reopens to the Corridors of Space between worlds as the Sonic Team traveled east of the Emptiness, towards the direction of Hollow Bastion. Although the prospect wasn't beneficial for particular pair of members of the group. Sonic still felt that they could have stayed long enough to save 2 and locate the missing 9, but Silver was adamant. The mystical master was insistent that helping a world that had already died would distract them from protect the worlds that still needed to be secured from the Heartless and Order XIII. Storm and Angel were no help as they agreed to the magician's sentiment – Stitchpunks were only dolls. The cobalt hedgehog was thankful that Marine shared his view on the situation, though having a sugar-blooded pirate wannabe didn't help any.

"We coulda help them, ya know!" Marine whined…again.

"And we keep telling you we have a mission." Angel groaned, rolling her eyes for the seventh time. "Do we really need to have this argument over and over again? It's kind of getting annoying."

"Kind of?" Silver sniggered; Marine pouted.

"I know it seems bad." Storm said sympathetically, wrapping his bulking arm around Marine's petite form. "But we've got other people to think about. We're doing our job to keep the Heartless away so that other worlds don't end up looking as bad as that one. The best thing we can do for them right now is stop Order XIII, banish the Heartless, and find out where King Jet and Espio are hiding."

"I guess…" Marine muttered.

"_I almost forgot that we were looking for Espio._" Sonic thought to himself surprisingly. "_Usually, all I'm thinking about is finding Espio and heading back to the islands. Amy's been waiting for a long time._"

"**With everything that's been going on, it's expected.**" Dark Sonic nodded agreeably. "**After defeating Mephiles, I would have expected our search to go a little smoother than this. But with the new threat of Order XIII and Black Doom's resurrection, things have become a lot more complicated.**"

"_We do have one advantage on our side._" Sonic smiled playfully. "_With the Door to Darkness closed off, Black Doom can't summon as many Heartless as he could before. And even better, he's got Egg-head working for him – the guy can barely stand on his own two feet._"

"**Black Doom is a crafty demon.**" Dark Sonic proclaimed seriously. "**He has skillful ways of finding henchmen like Teridax and Ganondorf. It wouldn't surprise me if he's already found a new recruit – one that can handle situations better than Dr. Eggman.**"

"_Whatever._" Sonic waved nonchalantly.

"So, any ideas on where to go next?" Angel asked aloud, snapping Sonic back to reality. "I bet there are some new worlds to visit after opening the gateway in Sora's world."

"There are some new routes, but we need to make a quick stop in Hollow Bastion." Silver replied. "Our Gears need to have their air chambers filtered, we're running low on rations…" He eyes Storm at that point, who was whistling innocently. "And I'd like to contact Queen Wave and Blaze to see if they've heard from King Jet yet."

"Yeah, and I still have this page I found in the library." Sonic said, revealing the folded paper from his quills.

"Well, we don't really have a choice." Angel shrugged. "I just hope there's at least something exciting down there."

* * *

The scene returns to the landing area behind the item shops where the Sonic Team first arrived as the touched down on the world of Hollow Bastion. The group of five felt safe enough to leave their Extreme Gear in the small square, seeing as how they were celebrated characters and no one would dare to touch them. Although, Sonic felt arrogant enough to boast the fact it was only him people admired – The team shared an exaggerated sigh. Walking over to the stairway, the Sonic Team was given a better view of the marketplace, which was unusually packed compared to the last time they stopped by. Silver and Storm were careful to notice that there were multiple species from other worlds walking besides the current residents. Such examples include a group of four teenagers and a talking dog, a little green alien with a robot that screamed for "piggys" every five minutes, and an Italian plumber with a red "M" on his hat.

"Whoa, what happened here?" Angel blinked curiously. "Is the circus in town?"

"I don't think I've every seen Hollow Bastion this crowded." Storm commented.

"That's because they have nowhere else to go."

The heroic team turned their attention to the trio of girls waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. Sonic and his friends noticed – the smallest member glared – Sally Acorn waving to her blue hero with two new girl flanking both her sides. The girl on her left was a dandelion-yellow mongoose with flowing violet-purple hair and three metal piercing in her left ear. Her attire consisted of a black tank top, a black hair band, Dusty-brown short held by a belt, and elbow-length hunter-green gloves with knee-length hunter-green boots to match.

The girl on Sally's right was a hot-pink echidna with matching pink dreadlock added with fuchsia tips. Her outfit consisted of a vest that was half moss-green and half dark-blue, a golden-yellow belt, dark-blue knee-high boots, and metal bonds stretch from her shoulders to her plain-white gloves. The most particular feature of this echidna female was the fact that the farthest left dreadlock was entirely mechanical – most likely from some accident. It was quite clear that Sally was the lead of the trio as she grabbed both girl by the arm and dragged them up the steps to meet the Sonic Team halfway.

"Hey, Sally, what's happening?" Sonic waved happily, never noticing the stink eye given off by his surrogate sister. "Who are your friends."

"It's nice to see you guys back in one piece." Sally smiled widely, gesturing a hand to the two females behind her. "These are my friends, Mina Mongoose and Julie-Su. Girls, this is the Keyblade Master, Sonic the Hedgehog, and his team: Silver the Hedgehog, Storm the Albatross, Angel, and Mary the Raccoon."

"It Marine!" Marine snapped.

"Wow, you're right, Sally – he is kinda cute." Mina said possessively as she closely inspected the blue hero, who was trying to hide his red face. "Especially with that sleek, royal-blue fur, sweet looking hairstyle…" She grabbed Sonic's chin, forcing him to look at her. "And those gorgeous green eyes."

"Uh…I…duh…Eh…" Sonic stammered unintelligently.

"Try using words, blue boy." Angel snickered.

"**I don't understand how you have trouble talking to the ladies.**" Dark Sonic commented. "**You didn't have any problems hitting it off with Blaze.**"

"_Can we not go into this?_" Sonic inwardly groaned. "_I have my hands full right here._"

"I don't see what the big deal is." Julie-Su in an uncaring manner. "He's not the great to me."

"**Ouch.**" Dark Sonic laughed.

"Moving on…" Silver said exasperatedly, pushing the girls away from his student. "You were saying that these people have nowhere to go. What happened?"

"The Heartless have been getting more restless ever since Black Doom came back." Sally explained, looking sadly out into the market street. "Since Traverse Town was destroyed over a year people survivor from other world have been using Hollow Bastion as a hub world to get away."

"Everyone here came from a world called Earth." Julie-Su continued. "There are a lot of freak and weirdoes, but there are some good people who've been helping out around here."

"The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee has become real popular." Mina added chirpily. "There're these new guys working at Shahra's place that know how to do magic to…" She made quotation marks with her finger. "'Vanquish the force of evil' or whatever it is the old coot said."

"Another magic user in Hollow Bastion, eh?" Silver nodded pleasingly. "That could really come in…"

"Your going down, demon freak!"

Sonic craned his head to look over Sally's left shoulder and caught sight of the bottom of a shoe before in smack him directly between the eyes. The cobalt hedgehog fell backwards in a daze with his vision filled with spots and stars. A short curse was heard from Silver and triples gasps from the girls before the largest member of the team assisted his mystified friend back to his feet. The Keyblade Master's mindset was eager to threshing his attacker, but was quickly washed away with a surge of embarrassment once spotting him. The unknown assailant turned out to be a young girl barely a few inch shorter than him with jet-black hair and wearing an orange hoodie with navy-blue jeans. The scrappy little girl was bouncing between the Sonic Team and Sally's group with her hands raised in a standard martial arts defense position – Julie-Su groaned openly.

"Don't worry ladies." The little girl said confidently. "There is no need to fear now that the amazing T-Girl is here!"

"The amazing…?" Storm began awkwardly.

"T-Girl?" Marine finished strangely.

"Jade, Sonic is not a demon." Sally sighed exasperatedly. "He's the Keyblade Master.

"This is the super hero everyone's talkin' 'bout?" Jade questioned, pointing to the hedgehog. "He' doesn't seem so special."

"Says you, half-pint." Sonic said annoyed, flicking Jade in the forehead. "Unlike some squirts around here, I think before I leap and I carry myself with honor and dignity."

"Dignity?" Angel snorted loudly. "In the past two weeks we've been back, you've been immobilized by a teen ninja, got you light knocked out by a doll, nearly became a dragon chew toy, got sucker punched by a dinosaur, and the shrimp just kicked your tail. And after all that, what dignity could you possibly have left."

"Thanks for the help, Angel." Sonic said sarcastically; the girl giggled lightly.

"I think we've had enough fun for one day." Silver said in a formal tone. "If you ladies don't mind, we've got some serious business to take care of and we need to get off this world as soon as possible. I think we should take a quick trip to Shahra's and then split up from there."

"The ring lady?" Jade blinked surprisingly. "Her and Uncle are working some major hocus-pocus. It'll be a little dangerous, but I think I'll be enough to keep you safe from the Heartless."

"I have a better idea." Sonic chirped tauntingly. "You can stay here and out of the way."

"Aww." Jade whined.

The cobalt Keyblade Master showed no courtesy when pushing the preteen to one side – he didn't take well to those who publicly embarrass him. Sally, Mina, and Julie-Su waved their friends goodbye – The first two more eager than the last – and Sonic shyly waved back, much to Marine's displeasure. But as the Sonic Team roughly squirmed their way through the crowd of newcomers pacing through the market street, the rascally raccoon suddenly noticed something unusual. During their earlier conversation, Sally had mention that Black Doom was back in command of the Heartless. But…how could she possibly know the Alien Overlord was alive when he has only appeared once in Babylon Garden. The youngest of the Sonic Team was tempted to debate this piece of information with her teammates, but she hesitated and stopped herself. They already knew she didn't like Sally and she couldn't point fingers without any proof. Speaking of the squirrel girl, Sally and her two friends were still hanging around the square behind the item shop waiting until their hero in shining blue armor left their field of vision. Sally and Mina leaned against each other and sighed dreamily – Julie-Su stuck out her tongue in distaste. But when the trio of females wasn't looking, a pair of green-scaled hands reached for the back of their shirts and pulled them out of sight. Sally and her friends grunted painfully and the smacked their backs against the wall and slumped to the ground.

"Ow, rude much!" Mina hissed disdainfully, rubbing the back of her head. "Just who do you think you…"

The mongoose lost her voice in an instant and latched herself to Sally's side immediately. They kidnapper grinned from ear to ear – his pointed teeth gleamed hungrily.

"Hello, ladies." The attack said pleasantly, kneeling to them. "Let's talk about hedgehogs and Keyblades."

* * *

The Sonic Team swept through the narrow alleys of the residential district. As to be expected from the rising population of survivors from scattered worlds, the residential district had become more crowded with his homes and apartments. Buildings that were once ground floor living area were now being ripped away and made taller to provide housing for any newcomers. Just from occasional glances, Marine and Angel managed to spot Cream, Tikal, or Metal amidst all the reconstruction, guiding welders and carpenters to their places. They were obviously too busy to talk to any of them – maybe Shahra or Omega could give them some new Intel. But as Sonic and his friend turn around the corner with Shahra's normal – yet slightly battered – home, the heroic animals felt strangely out of place. Maybe it was because of the overwhelming numbers of new residents or the successful actions of Omega's defense mechanism, the Heartless were nowhere to be seen.

"This is kinda sad, mates." Marine pouted as they arrived at the door. "I was hoping for a ripper of a fight before showing up."

"You don't hear me complaining." Silver grinned, pushing wooden door inwards. "Shahra, you in here?"

"Master Shahra is currently out now."

Stepping over the threshold with the Babylonian mystic leading the pack, the group looked down to the floor where Shahra's apprentice, Merlina, was on her hands and knees. The sorceress-in-training was holding a small toothbrush in her hand with a cup off water to her left – she was clearly still being punished for the book theft. Her magical scepter was hanging on the wall above Shahra's worktable and E-123 Omega was sitting in the corner of the room with his glowing optics glued to the computer monitor. But what really registered the Sonic Team's attention was the newest member of the household waving a blowfish that was smoking at the mouth. He was a large human easily twice Shahra's size with formidably large girth with black hair tied in a topknot. His clothing was simple as it merely consisted of black overalls with an extra large white undershirt and a simple pair of sandals. From the first moment the Sonic Team laid eyes on him, they all had one thought in their mind: How'd he get through the door?

"Whoa, you're a big guy aren't ya?" Marine said without thinking.

"Marine…" Storm hissed.

"It is no trouble." The giant smiled kindly. "I've heard it all before and it doesn't bother me."

"Way to stick it to them, Tohru!" The Sonic Team and jumped as Jade appeared behind them. "And if anyone else has anything to say, I'll open a can of the ancient art of butt-whoop."

"Jade, we told you to stay at the market place." Angel glared.

"Tch, as if." Jade scoffed. "You're not the boss of me."

"She is…very stubborn." Tohru said apologetically.

"Don't I know it?" Silver sighed exasperatedly, eyeing the humble giant questionably. "So, what exactly are you doing with the dead sushi?"

"Sensei, Jackie, and Master Shahra went out to the Zero District to collect ingredients." Tohru responded thoughtfully. "While they're away, I was asked to perform a chi spell that would prevent the Heartless from making another attempt on this household."

"Chi spell?" Marine repeated confused.

"Chi has other names like Chakra or Chaos." Merlina explained in a dignified manner as she stood up. "But despite the different words, they all have the same meaning. They are life energy that exists within all living things, even the Heartless and Nobodies."

"That's kinda cool." Sonic commented, rounding to his teacher. "Why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"I did tell you before." Silver glared displeasingly. "But you weren't paying attention and was playing video games with Angel for six straight hours."

"Seven time champion, baby!" Angel shouted victoriously.

"This is the guy that supposed to save the worlds." Omega muttered under his nonexistent breathe. "We're screwed."

Sonic's ear twitched, but decided to ignore it. Since Shahra was no longer around to help and Omega didn't have anything new to report on King Jet and Espio, the group of five decided to split up. Silver and Marine went back to retrieve the Extreme Gears so that Omega could work on them and Angel left with Marine to obtain food for the trip – Sonic felt queasy at the thought. But remember that he had a mission to complete, Sonic shuffled through the mountains of books that seemed to have grown since his last visit – Tohru's teacher was a real bookworm. Thankfully, his objective was right where he remembered it to be. The ripped cover of Chao Garden rested on the high podium in the back wall of the room, separated from the other books surrounding it. Being unnaturally gentle, the Keyblade Master turned the cover and glided through the pages until stop on the ripped midsection between chapters. According to the oil paintings on the cloth-like page only Sonic-Chao's home still remained. Not for long. Taking the chapter he retrieved from Babylon Garden's library, Sonic places the page against the jagged ridges that match it perfectly, watching the book repair itself magically. And the next the he knew, Sonic was pulled forward into the book by a blinding glimmer of light and the cover snapped shut behind him.

"That was so cool!" Jade exclaimed excitedly. "Can I…?"

"NO!" Merlina, Omega and Tohru yelled simultaneously.

"Aww." Jade whined.

* * *

The scenery alternates to a pleasant dimension away from the troubles of the Heartless and Nobodies; in the safety of Chao Garden. One particular area was different due to the fact that Sonic had never visited this region last time he traveled around the book world. It was a marsh land enclosed in a circle of wild bushes and tall grass, circling around a large lake. There were scattered rocks cover in moss peaking from the surface, giant lily pads that could hold a human, and large wooden roots exposed through the water. The most dominate feature of this marshland was the tower gangly tree rooted to an extra large boulder in the center with knotted branches, chipped bark, and colored in a wide ray of green leaves. A burrowing hole was spotted at the base of the tree and a small wooden post on the side with the picture of two fox tail – It was Tail-Chao's home. Unfortunately, one true blue hero didn't realize this. Sonic-Chao was bouncing between the rocks, never knowing that he was playing in the living space of his best friend.

"Man, this gets boring real fast." Sonic-Chao muttered. "It would be fun if there was a bad guy around."

"Excuse me? Sonic-Chao?" An angelic voice called.

The mini-Sonic blinked twice before sliding around the moss covered rock to face another face that was unfamiliar to him. The creature was another resident of Chao Garden much like Sonic-Chao, except this one was pure white with sky-blue pigment on her hands and feet. She had gold, angelic wings and a sapphire-blue halo over her head – added with her tender, sweet smile – made her appear like an angel. The divine Chao hovered above the surface above the water – her feet barely sending a ripple in the cool liquid – as she moved closer to the hero of Chao Garden.

"Sonic-Chao, what a surprise seeing you here." The white Chao said pleasantly. "Did you come to visit Tails-Chao?"

"Tails-Chao? Who's that?" Sonic-Chao questioned, scratching his head. "Come to think of it, who are you?"

"Oh dear, you don't remember." The white Chao gasped. "But we were born from the same egg together. It's me – Angel-Chao, remember? At the very least, I wouldn't expect you to forget the name of your best friend."

"To be honest, I don't remember a lot lately." Sonic-Chao said shyly.

"Ooh, did Dark-Chao hurt you?" Angel-Chao asked worried; Sonic-Chao blinked in confusion. "Well, I hope you feel better soon. Chao Garden deserves a hero like you and all your friends would be worried if something happened to you." She took a short moment to hug the true blue hero before gently drifting into the sky. "By the way, you might want to wear a scarf! It's unusually windy today!"

"Thanks!" Sonic-Chao waved until she was out of sight. "Hmm….Tails-Chao and Dark-Chao. Well, it's a start."

And with that, Sonic-Chao starting skipped between the rocks without a clue about where he was going. Meanwhile, Sonic's unexpected entrance landed him on the border of Tails-Chao's homeland, just beyond the tall grass. At first, the Keyblade Master wondered if he was still in Chao Garden given the fact that he had never seen Tails-Chao's home. To be quite honest, Sonic-Chao didn't think anyone but Knuckles-Chao had a house. So when he saw the lake and the tree, he figured that some unpredictable spell set off by Merlina had crash-landed him on some backwater world. But that was before he spotted the picket sign next the tree burrow, indicating Tails-Chao's residence.

"There's only one…Chao I know with two tails." Sonic grinned expectantly. "I wonder if Sonic-Chao's running 'round here."

"**Just follow the trail of disaster and you'll find him.**" Dark Sonic commented.

"_Do you ever have anything nice to say?_" Sonic questioned exasperatedly. "_I mean, I'm your good half, Sora is my dimensional counterpart, and Sonic-Chao is like a little me._"

"**My point exactly.**" Dark Sonic nodded. "**They're too many of you.**"

Sonic expression falter – he really wanted to beat the crap out of his dark counterpart. Thankfully enough, his attention was redirection when he spotted something moving out of the corner of his eyes. Someone was digging their way out of the burrow and the Keyblade Master had a vague idea who it would be. As he predicted a small, eager Chao crawled out from his living space and stretched his arm, yawning animatedly. The little creature was a sunflower-yellow Chao with pointy, fox-like ears and a floating green ball above his head. The most notable feature about this little Chao was the two bushy tails. Once rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes, Tail-Chao blinked repeatedly to adjust his eyes to the sunlight and stared around his territory. It wasn't unusual for the two-tailed Chao to wake up with guests at his doorstep, but this particular guest was different than most.

"Sonic!" Tails-Chao exclaimed happily, running to skip across the rock. "Sonic, you're really here!"

"You better believe it, little guy." Sonic smiled gratefully, kneeling when Tails-Chao stopped in front of it. "Man, it's been forever since I've seen ya. You look like you've been taking care of yourself just fine."

"You bet I did!" Tails-Chao cheered with a fiery spirit. "I've gotten a lot stronger and braver since the last time you visited Chao Garden! I've even beat Dark-Chao a few times without Sonic-Chao's help!"

"Someone say my name!"

The cobalt hedgehog and the two-tailed Chao quickly looked to their left side as the speedy wonder of Chao Garden bounced into view around the tree. Sonic-Chao remained rooted to his place on the moss covered stone, tilting his head in a gesture of confusion. The royal blue hero recalled meeting his taller counterpart once before, meeting with very unusual results, but he still couldn't recall the name. And now seeing him standing with the two-tailed companion, Sonic-Chao felt an unusual strain in the back of his mind – he was starting to get a migraine. Ignoring the throbbing pulse in his forehead, the speedy hero skipped his way from stone to stone, stopping close to Sonic and Tails-Chao when touching the shore.

"Nice to see that you're still in good form, Sonic-Chao." Sonic said hopefully.

"What'd ya expect from the greatest hero in Chao Garden?" Sonic-Chao spoke arrogantly, puffing out his tiny chest. "Though I guess it's good to see you, too….whoever you are."

"_AW, he still doesn't remember me._" Sonic though depressingly. "_I thought getting the pages back would help restore his memory._"

"**But you have to remember that more than one page was taken by the Heartless.**" Dark Sonic noted. "**Like last time, the book won't be fully revived until all the missing pages have been recovered.**"

"_Great…more scavenger hunting._" Sonic whined.

"Sonic-Chao, that's not very nice." Tails-Chao scolded. "How could you not remember Sonic after you practically begged him to stay last time?"

"Did I say that?" Sonic-Chao questioned, scratching his head. "Gee, you'd think I would remember something like that. Then again, I don't really remember much of anything these days." The little blue hero shivered suddenly as the wind started to pick up. "Whoa, when Angel-Chao said it was windy, she wasn't kidding."

"You really don't remember anything?" Tails-Chao asked sadly, not noticing that the wind was blowing harder. "Not even…me?" The cobalt Chao shook his head sadly. "Ooh…I can't believe…my own best friend…"

"I'm sorry I couldn't remember." Sonic-Chao apologized. "If there was anything I could – whoa!" Without warning, the gentle breeze rampaged into a powerful gale, throwing the Chao on their backs and Sonic to his knees. "Ok, I heard blow wind, but this is ridiculous!"

"There's no way this can be done by natural causes!" Tails-Chao screamed against the hurricane.

"How right you are, my two-tailed friend!" A wicked cackled sounded.

It didn't take much to remember that tone of annoyance. After all, how often are you going to find someone who is more incompetent than Eggman? Their was a short rustling in the bushes before the sinister mastermind behind this anomaly jumped out to confront his lifelong enemies. The villain was a wicked-black Chao with red pigments on his hands and feet, giving him a somewhat malevolent appearance. His evil features were only enhance by the row of sharp teeth stretch across his face, crimson-red wings on his back, and the crimson spiked ball floating above his head. The master of minimal disaster was holding a wireless controller in his hands, which apparently controlled the sourced of the hurricane: A mechanical serpent with an industrial fan welded into its mouth.

"Dark-Chao!" Sonic-Chao glared defiantly.

"Oh, sure, you remember the bad guy!" Sonic shouted insulted.

"We meet again, Sonic-Chao." Dark-Chao sniggered, slowly setting his eyes on the Keyblade Master. "Ah, and the big rodent is back for round two. Are you going to run off with your tail between your legs before I humiliate you again?"

"Uh, last I recall it; you were the one always blasting off." Sonic stated casually.

"Grr…who asked you?" Dark-Chao snared. "That was the old Dark-Chao! The new Dark-Chao is bigger, stronger, smart, and more viciously evil than ever before! And to prove it, I am going to blow you away with my new Whirlwind Worm! Patent pending."

"**Really? A fan?**" Dark Sonic said ludicrously. "**He's had a full year to prepare and the best thing he could come up with is a fan?**"

"_It's kinda hard to believe there's a worse villain than Eggman._" Sonic chuckled under his breathe. "_Compared to the third-rate runt, Eggman is just as evil as Mephiles._"

"Oh, you think I'm funny, do you?" Dark-Chao snapped after catching wind of Sonic's undertone laughter. "Well, let's see if you're still laugh after this!"

With a dramatic wave of his stubby hand, the low class villain punched a larger red button on his control pad, which was really the only object on the device. The mechanical serpent must have understood what it needed to do. Not even a moment after the command was issued; the Whirlwind Worm slithered past its creator and glared at the trio with its nonexistent eyes. Sonic's hand was itching to summon the Keyblade, but would it actually be worth it? After all, what's the worst a giant fan could do? Apparently….a lot. The sound of creaking metal vibrated through the air and the silver serpent opened its jaw to reveal the high powered fan hidden insides, already rotating its blades. The fan blades were already moving at an unsafe rate before it caught everyone by surprise by expelling a concentrated funnel of air directly in its line of fire. Feeling threatened, Sonic quickly snatched his two small friends and dodge rolled to the nearest bush. Just in time, too. When the trio looked back to the damage the Whirlwind Worm created, they were stunned as wind tunnel completely shredded a section of Tails-Chao's tree.

"Whoa, that's what I call a little off the top." Sonic whistled impressively.

"**Please stop with the puns.**" Dark Sonic complained. "**You don't have a ounce of comedy in your body.**"

"_You wouldn't know a good job if it punched you in the face._" Sonic retorted.

"How do you like the destructive power of the Whirlwind Worm?" Dark-Chao cackled sinisterly. "With just the simple push of a button, I can command my creation to create a wonder summertime mist or a deadly force-5 tornado! With the machine, I am unstoppable!"

"I still say you're full of hot air." Sonic-Chao said jokingly.

"**Ugh, they come in pairs.**" Dark Sonic sighed in dissatisfaction.

"You've said your last joke." Dark-Chao glared. "Goodbye, Sonic-Chao!"

Once again with a dramatic emphasis, the nasty little bugger commanded his creation into attack mode. From the moment the Whirlwind Worm unhinged its maw, the heroic trio jumped in different direction to avoid the column of destructive gale that ripped apart the bushes. The cobalt hedgehog knew that the situation had elevated and summoned the Kiryu Keyblade to his hand. Sonic started running around the right side of the silver serpent, ducking and dodging between the bushes and rolled out of his way through the tall grass – all plants suffered the same fate. However, the Keyblade Master was forced to backtrack from his initial run when the Whirlwind Worm aimed a calculated flow of air directly in Sonic's path, forming a hole where his foot would have been a moment ago. The mechanical serpent noticed the hedgehog's hesitation after being thrown off and opened its mouth to summon up another gale to eradicate the rodent. However, the plan was proven unsuccessful as a blinding blur of blur whizzed through the air and struck at the left side of the Worm's face, leaving an impressive dent in the metal. Dark-Chao yelped frightfully as the Whirlwind Worm dropped to the ground with a heavy thud followed by Sonic-Chao landing directly between the two with a victorious smile.

"That the best you got, Dark-Chao?" Sonic taunted confidently. "You know, I think you were better off doing things the old fashioned way: thrown fruits and rocks. You just really can't trust machines these days."

"You stupid little bug!" Dark-Chao growled, stomping his feet childishly. "I promise I will…I will…" However, the malevolent mastermind cut himself short on his rant as the silver serpent twitch without Sonic-Chao's notice. "On second thought, I'm not going to do anything."

"Givin' up already." Sonic-Chao smirked.

"Not in the slightest." Dark-Chao cackled.

Before the speedy hero knew what had occurred, the Whirlwind Worm thrust itself back to full height and slapped its tail across the air. Sonic-Chao did not see the assault and was slapped away from the machine's master and sent flailing towards the lake. It was common knowledge that Sonic-Chao didn't know how to swim and thought of falling into the water sent the blue hero into a panicked frenzy. Fortunately, he managed to land on one of the large lily pads and was able to stay afloat. But the royal-blue hero was not even given the chance to breathe before the Whirlwind Worm was casting its shadow from the shoreline with Dark-Chao grinned insanely at its side.

"Finally, after years of blood sweat, and tears…" Dark-Chao said in the usual monologue.

"Mostly tears." Sonic-Chao said joking.

"Hey! I'm in the middle of my big speech here!" Dark-Chao screamed furiously. "Now where was I? Uh…no I already said that…I feel I should say something about pudding. Ah, you know what, forget it. I'm just gonna blast you to pieces now."

Sonic had finally pulled himself out of his suspended state of shock when Dark-Chao was positioning himself in dramatic pause, wanting to savor every moment. If there's something you could count on it third-rate villains, they loved taking their time. The Keyblade Master had only started running back to the lake when the wicked demon pressed the mechanism to give the silver serpent the authority to attack. Sonic knew he couldn't destroy the Whirlwind Worm and save Sonic-Chao at the same time, so that only left one option. Kicking his feet against a fallen log, the cobalt hedgehog flipped forward into the air and over the heads of the villains at the precise moment the machine released it wind tunnel. While still floating around in midair, Sonic gripped the handle of the Kiryu and forced its Keychain Ability to activate, coating his body in jade-green dragon scales. The Keyblade Master crossed his arms protectively as he dropped in from of his miniature counterpart, successfully taking the full impact of the air funnel. The dragon scale proved able to withstand the effects of the Whirlwind Worms furious gale, but the power behind the hurricane sent Sonic flying backwards, colliding with the speedy hero of Chao Garden. Both blue warrior were thrown completely over the lake and smacked their backs against the bark of Tails-Chao's tree.

"Really, what did you think that would accomplish?" Dark-Chao sniggered. "You can't beat me."

"Who said anything about beating you?" Sonic said confidently as she stood at full height. "We just needed to keep your attention long enough."

"Long enough for what?" Dark-Chao asked meekly.

"Just a little rewiring."

That voice was actually much closer to the menacing monster that he almost jumped out of his skin. Dark-Chao had completely forgotten about his two-tailed enemy in all the commotion and quickly learned to regret the mistake. The tiny demon turned completely back just as Tails-Chao snapped a compartment in the Whirlwind Worm's side, clapping his hands free from the imaginary dust. Dark-Chao moaned inwardly as he felt the silver serpent's breathe against his shoulders. The despicable demon was sent flying by a controlled gale of wind released by his one creation.

"Curse you, Tails-Chao!" Dark-Chao yelled before disappearing over the horizon.

"We did it!" Tail-Chao cheered; the mechanical snake nudged him pleasingly as the two Sonic skipped across the lake to join them. "Aw, can I keep him, Sonic-Chao! Please! I walk him, and feed him, and oil him every day! I promise!"

"Well…"Sonic-Chao smiled thoughtfully. "I guess you're responsible enough to have a pet, Tails-Chao."

A pregnant period of silence followed the sentence. Sonic and his little two-tailed friend glanced shockingly to one another before snapping back to the speedy hero, who seemed confused by the reaction.

"Sonic-Chao…you remember me?" Tails-Chao gapped slowly, almost thinking it's too good to be true.

"Of course!" Sonic-Chao exclaimed proudly. "How could I ever forget my best pal?"

"Then you remember me, too?" Sonic asked hopefully.

"Nope, not really." Sonic-Chao answered bluntly; Sonic face faulted.

"_Well, so much for that._" Sonic thought grudged.

"**He might not remember your name now, but this does show some improvement.**" Dark Sonic said sympathetically. "**As long as we continue to collect the missing pages, we should be able to restore Sonic-Chao's memory, piece by piece.**"

Though the Keyblade Master was severely disappointed that his friend couldn't remember him, there was some truth to his darker half's words. No matter how much Sonic wanted to recover his friend's memories, he knew that forcing it on the little guy would only do more harm than good. So for now, he was just content to watching Sonic-Chao and Tails-Chao play with their new pet – a crazy mechanical pet, but a pet nonetheless.

"**We go to the strangest places.**" Dark Sonic sweatdropped.

* * *

The last scene returned to the realm of Hollow Bastion beyond the safety of the city and past the bordered canyons of the Great Maw. The Army of Heartless was still swarming at the ground floor beneath the Villain's Vale, slowly dividing and growing in numbers. The piercing-yellow eggs being nested by specific Heartless were also valuable, but the process of gathering his forces was taking a toll on Black Doom's patience. Speaking of whom, the Alien Overlord was drifting back and forth within the dark chambers of his high tower with only Eggman to act as an audience. But having the former scientist of Babylon Garden was only a small part of the warlord's irritability. Ten years of planning and scheming…all undone by a teenage boy and his Keyblade. Black Doom stopped and slammed his fists against the table, causing Eggman to fall on his back in surprise.

"Why? Why is this happening?" Black Doom shouted heatedly. "I've spent years gathering the darkest and most vicious overlords from across the worlds and they were all defeated or destroyed by the accursed hedgehog! Even I have fallen prey to that boy's power! Now I am left without servants to lead my armies!"

"But…you still have me, Black Doom." Eggman counted nervously.

"You…" Black Doom hissed malevolent. He slowly crossed the room, bearing down of the terrified scientist. "I can barely trust you with a small swarm of Shadows to hunt for new Heartless. You have failed me more times than any of my other subordinates put together, even with the most simple of tasks! Possibly your greatest blunder was your failure to claim Babylon Garden as mine and your petty attempt to overthrow me!"

"But master!" Eggman pleaded pathetically, dropping to his knees in forgiveness. "I was only seeking what was in your best…"

"Silence!" Black Doom commanded. "I am tired of your incompetence. That is why I have taken the liberty of assigning you a partner."

The former scientists stared at the Alien Overlord with confusion. Partner? Did Black Doom just say he didn't have anymore servants that would follow his commands? Apparently he found some new assistance recently as a new player to the game suddenly landed on the ledge outside the chamber before nonchalantly entering their domain. In terms of age, the new character seemed roughly in his teenage years, but was clearly very powerful. He was rough the size of an average human with forest-green scales coating his body, a long, sweeping tail, and a row of horns of his head and the sides of his face. He wore tight steel-grey pants with a red sash around his waist, a grey shirt with a fire logo on his chest, and black bands on his wrists, and a flowing, jet-black jacket with the sleeves ripped off. The lizard-like man jumped abrupt on top and the table and kneeled forward to come face-to-face with his new partner, grinning evilly to expose his demonic teeth.

"Please, call me Drago."

* * *

**A new player and more adventures await the continued war for the worlds! Will the addition of Drago give Black Doom an advantage? Will Sonic be able to locate the missing pages? And why has Order XIII not revealed themselves yet? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

You know what time it is, so pick a world!

A) Karda Nui

B) Hogwarts

C) Hyrule

VOTE NOW!


	36. Treasure Hunt, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Thirty-Four: Treasure Hunt, Part 1

The scenery returns to the starry Corridors of Space between worlds several hours following the Sonic Team's arrival on Hollow Bastion. Speaking of whom, the group of five was currently flying in the eastern direction, passing the open wormhole that led to Destiny Islands and Babylon Garden. Sonic lingered for a few minutes when they were passing the Emptiness, but Silver's intensified stare told him to keep moving – he would have to find a way back.

"So, any idea where we're off to next, mate?" Marine asked cheerfully; she was much peppier without Sally around.

"We've been to new worlds like Amegakure, the Digital World, and the Emptiness." Angel counted with her fingers. "And we visited familiar worlds like Budokai and Destiny Islands."

"Even though it was a different universe." Storm added helpfully.

"So we should be due for a familiar world some time soon." Angel finished thoughtfully.

"And you've hit the nail on that one." Silver grinned amazingly. "The closest world available is in Hyrule."

"Hyrule, are you serious?" Sonic shouted excitedly, jumping closer to his teacher. "Man, I haven't been there since Ganondorf controlled Zant and tried to take over Hyrule. I wonder if Zelda and Link found each other again."

"Uh, what's Hyrule, mates?" Marine blinked confused.

"Oh, that's right; you didn't join us until after Hyrule." Storm said, laughing at the oversight. "It was just after Angel first joined our team that we stopped in a medieval world called Hyrule and fought one of Black Doom's men named Zant. Only Zant wasn't the real enemy – he was just a puppet being forced to work for Ganondorf, the big bad guy. We met a guy called Link and he helped Sonic take out the guy."

"Actually, it was Link that did all the work." Sonic said humbly. "I was just the distraction."

"**Wow, I never thought I'd see you act so noble.**" Dark Sonic commented surprisingly.

"_Link's a great guy._" Sonic said honestly. "_He deserves the credit. After all, my attack did nothing against Ganondorf._"

"Hey, Sonic…" Silver grinned deviously. "Isn't that where you're girlfriend lives?"

"Girlfriend/**Girlfriend?**" Marine and Dark Sonic repeated simultaneously.

"Ugh, why did you have to bring that up?" Sonic moaned exaggeratedly. "He's talking about Midna – the Twilight Princess. She was in trouble when Ganondorf showed up and I helped save her. Ever since then, she's been totally obsessed and has been trying to ask me to marry her all the time. I think I lost her after we fought Mephiles at Kingdom Hearts."

"**You certainly get into a lot of trouble with women.**" Dark Sonic noted.

"_It's a gift and a curse._" Sonic sighed heavily.

"Well, we're about to land." Angel smirked mischievously. "Be sure to by some flowers for your lady."

The cobalt hedgehog groaned inwardly and refused to speak another word until they landed. Sonic really hoped that Midna went back to the Twilight Realm or the Heartless and Order XIII will be the least of his concerns.

* * *

**/\ (Hyrule) /\ **

Not much can be said about the changes in Castle Town during the Sonic Team's year of absence. The confusing labyrinth of streets was overflowing with business and commerce in every direction. People of every race would often gather in the capital city of Hyrule from the rocky Gorons to the slippery Zoras to forest folk of Ordona Province. The only significant difference in the city was the massive construction sight in the northern quarter of Castle Town beyond the gilded doorway. Hyrule would never forget the day that Ganondorf – The King of Evil – brought down the castle built by the royal family in his attempt to destroy Link and Sonic. But the dark days have passed and Ganondorf's body was sent back to his original home to be buried. But that didn't mean all of the demon's darkness had left this world.

By some dark miracle or curse, one of Ganondorf's highest minions had returned from the grave and was currently trudging through the slums of Castle Town's lesser kept areas. The grave and hopeless creature was relatively human in a sense of physical structure, but his skin was chalk-white and a pair of creepy, yellow eyes. His attire was formed from a long-sleeved robe that was covered in neon-green symbols, a single pair of black, form-fitting pants, and two sword holsters strapped to his back – he was walking barefoot. Once carrying himself with a regal appearance when under Ganondorf's command, Zant of the Twili was now reduced to wear the clothing of a common soldier. The former Twilight Usurper sighed and decided to rest of a stairway close to the back alley tavern.

"Another day, another wasted opportunity." Zant muttered disheartened. "I swear that I've changed, but no one is willing to hire a psychotic madman that tried to take over the kingdom and swallow everyone in eternal twilight. I mean, it wasn't that bad, right?" He took a moment to think and hung his head sadly. "I'm doomed."

"Castle Town! Just the way I remember!"

Zant snapped his head attentively – he knew that voice. The former usurper sharply ducked behind the stairway, cautiously looking looked around the edge as the first of the group appeared through the gateway. Angel was sitting on Storm's shoulder with a happy grin on her face followed by Silver then Sonic and Marine. Since this was Marine's first time visiting Hyrule, it took a while for her to take in all the extravagant sights and sounds of the medieval world. But most unfortunate for Zant, the rascally raccoon spotted the former usurper before he had a chance to drop out of sight. Marine, easily drawn by curiosity, stepped lightly to Zant's hiding place without the others noticing.

"I wonder how Link and Zelda are doin'." Storm questioned thoughtfully. "We never did find what happened to them after Kingdom Hearts."

"I bet those two are doing just fine." Sonic smiled happily, resting his hands behind his head. "Hey, why don't we go visit them? I bet they'll be surprised to see us again."

"And maybe Espio and the king are with them." Silver said optimistically. "You never know – King Jet has stopped at some unusual places before."

"Then what are we waitin' for?" Sonic said impatiently. "The faster we get to the castle, the sooner we can check up on them." He looked over in Marine's direction. "Marine, get ready to – what are you doing over there?"

The rascally raccoon was leaning over the stairway, staring Zant directly in the eye. For a good portion of two minutes, neither Marine nor the former Usurper moved either because of fear or curiosity. The cobalt hedgehog cocked his head in a confused manner. What could be so important? The Keyblade Master moved around his surrogate sister and looked past the edge of the stairs, finally catching the sight of his former enemy. Naturally, Sonic quickly snatched Marine away from the Twilight Usurper and summoned the Kiryu Keyblade to his freehand while jumping away. The sudden reaction from their leader caused the remainder of the Sonic Team to withdraw their weapons – the exception being Marine, who was once again confused. By this time, Zant knew there was no point trying to hide and solemnly walked into the open with his hands raised in surrender. The heroes' reactions were obvious.

"Zant?" The Sonic Team screamed simultaneously.

"**A friend of yours?**" Dark Sonic asked cluelessly.

"_Hardly._" Sonic sneered. "_Zant is a backstabbing, two-timing, lowlife that cursed Midna and helped Ganondorf capture Zelda over a year ago. Midna said he was good, but anyone that works for Black Doom is far from good._"

"Uh…hello everyone." Zant said, chuckling weakly. "Nice to see you all in good health."

"Cut the act, Jack!" Angel glared.

"What are you doing showing your face around here?" Storm grunted, lifting his shield to fight. "I think this is the last place anyone would want to have you around."

"Listen, you've got to hear me out!" Zant exclaimed pleadingly. "I know what I did was wrong, but Ganondorf was controlling me."

"I find that hard to believe." Silver scoffed. "Though it is possible to control someone, I doubt Ganondorf could have taken over someone with a powerful mind like yours. The only way he could have done it is if you let him control you."

"Ok…I admit it." Zant said sheepishly, stretching the back of his head. "I was a little…frustrated that Midna was chosen as the next Twilight Ruler instead of me, but that doesn't excuse the crimes I committed. You have to believe me, I would never have done anything to hurt Midna – I love her. And after I was resurrected following Ganondorf's defeat, I thought this was the perfect chance to redeem myself and start over….but…."

"But no one wants to help psychotic dictator." Angel finished, folding her arms. "Gotta say, I can't blame them."

"Please, you have to help me." Zant practically begged. "I want to apologize to Link and Zelda for my actions, but the guards won't let me in to tell them. I'll bet if I'm seen with you, they'll have to give me a chance."

"Why should we?" Storm questioned sternly.

"Aw, he looks so sad." Marine said sympathetically. "Maybe we should help him."

"You weren't around when he kidnapped Midna and Zelda, Marine." Sonic said unconvinced. "Give us one good reason why we should help you?"

"You might wanna try looking behind you." Zant suggested.

The Keyblade Master would have thought for the distraction to be a trap, but something about Sonic's instincts commanded to heed the former usurper's wishes. A good thing, too. The moment Sonic looked over his shoulder; the cobalt hedgehog immediately turned on his heels and raised his Keyblade sideways before the opposing blade could piece his skull. Taking a long moment to force his opponent away, Sonic looked over the attacker. It resembled much like the Neoshadows, but was swarmed with neon-red outlines, a collection of tentacles in the back of its head, and carried a scimitar blade in each hand. It wasn't long before the Sonic Team was surrounded by ten of these Twilight Heartless.

"Sending Heartless to kill us." Silver said sarcastically. "Yeah, that'll definitely change their minds."

"If I was controlling them." Zant said irritably. "Why would they be attacking me?"

True to his point, the former usurper had withdrawn the cleave blade on his back and slashed through one of the approaching Twilight before kicking away a second. The action itself changed the opinions of the Sonic Team, but not by much. With three Twilight Heartless approaching from different directions, Storm pulled back his arm and spun around with his shield held outwards. Two of the glowing Heartless were launched into the air….and never came down. Storm grinned sheepishly while ruffling his feathers – he didn't even know his own strength. But if he had taken the moment to count, he would have realized that he failed to dispose of the third shadow crawling against the cobblestone street. Silent and deadly, the Twilight raised itself from the ground and stood at full height with its swords crossed for the perfect strike at the Albatross's blind spot. But thankfully enough, the Sonic Team covers each other's weaknesses. Before the Twilight knew what happened, a blur of pink landed on its swords and a pair of silver daggers was stabbed in its wrists. The glowing-neon Heartless hissed furiously with its piercing-yellow eyes glaring dangerously close at Angel, who only smiled playfully. In retaliation, the Twilight attempted to use the tentacles on its head to strangle the pink experiment. But Angel had already beaten it there. The siren experiment kicked off the crossed swords and flipped overhead, grabbing a handful of the hair-like extensions on its head. At the moment Angel touched back on the ground, she pulled the Heartless over her shoulder and slammed it face first into the ground, sending it back to the Realm of Darkness.

"You really should watch you're back." Angel commented. "I know you're big, but you can't let these runts get to you."

"Are you calling me fat?" Storm questioned seriously; his eye twitched dangerously.

"No, I'm saying you're big-boned." Angel giggled.

Storm laughed heartily – someone finally got it. In the meantime, Sonic was swinging the Kiryu blade in order to blade the twin scimitars from the Twilight in front of him before he noticed the second one coming up from behind. Forcing the first sword-wielding Heartless into a stalemate, the cobalt hedgehog the shadow away and turned to cross blades with the second attacker. Unfortunately, the first Twilight didn't need long to recover and made a daring run at the Keyblade Master while his back was turned. Possibility due to the natural sense he gained from his parent's, Sonic could feel his hair standing on end as if detecting the approaching Heartless. Following his instincts, Sonic used his Keyblade to force both of the Twilight's scimitars to the ground and used the blades as support before jumping over his opponent. At that same moment, the first Twilight swipe both of his blade diagonally to where the hedgehog was formally standing and instead severed its partner into three pieces. Through the smoke of shadows that formed from the Heartless' defeat, Sonic followed gravity's whim back to the ground and brought his elbow down over the Twilight's head. The initial contact forced the sword-wielding shadow to flop to the ground and drop both its weapons with a ringing clatter. The Twilight growled dangerously as it regained its footing, only to whimper in fear when finding the Keyblade Master wielding both its scimitars in place of the Kiryu. Sonic grinned playfully. He started twirling both of the curved blades in his hands both to show off his skills and to be a show off in general. The Twilight was forced back until it was up against the wall with both scimitars falling close to its tentacle head. Then Sonic stopped – he had a better idea.

"Hey, can you hold these?" Sonic asked politely, handing both the scimitars back upside-down. The Twilight blinked and took them back. "Thanks you." And then Sonic punched it in the face, effectively knocking it out. "Man, I thought that only working in movies."

"**He…really fell for that?**" Dark Sonic said in disbelief. "**He didn't even think to defend himself with them? I am so ashamed to call them my brethren."**

"_You know what they say: there's one born every minute._" Sonic laughed.

"**Yeah, I – hey! What's that supposed to mean?**" Dark Sonic roared; Sonic snickered.

Silver was probably the only one having difficulties handling this new breed of Heartless. Three of the Twilights converged on the Babylonian mystic, attacking in a synchronized pattern that commanded one Heartless to strike following the previous one. It was a well-known fact that Silver was a long-range fighter that needed time to perform magic, but the Heartless weren't going to give him that chance. When the first Twilight flipped sideways over its partner, Silver used the rod of this dragon staff to absorb the blow and throw the shadow back. But two seconds following the contact, a second Twilight crawled against the ground and sprang upwards with its scimitars clasped together in a stabbing motion. The Babylon mystic barely sidestepped away with only a few hairs clipped, but his entire defense was blown away. That fact was made clear as the third Twilight appeared directly to his right side and raised a single blade against the hedgehog, who instinctively threw up his staff in defense. When the weapons made contact, Silver was thrown against a stockpile of barrels in the corner and his staff was thrown wayward down the street. The Babylon mystic attempted to sooth the throbbing pain in his forehead, but was kinda distracted by the three sets of swords pointed over his heart.

"To be honest, I never thought I'd go out this way." Silver commented. "I always thought Sonic would inadvertently cause me to have some kind of heart attack."

"Stand back, mates!" Marine shouted randomly. "Capt. Marine to the rescue!"

All of a sudden, a powerful tremor vibrated throughout the street - heroes and Heartless alike turned and stared. Thanks to his wide imagination, Marine had created a stampede of emerald-green horses from her power orb and was riding the leading mare shouting for a charge. The stupefied Twilights were rendered powerless in shock as the army of stallions pummeled the sword-wielding Heartless into the gravel with their powerful hooves. Sonic helped his teacher to his feet while Angel and Storm brought the sorcerer his staff – the stallion stampede had finally vanished after six minutes.

"Don't you think that was a bit….much?" Sonic asked, laughter lightly as his surrogate sister joined them.

"**You're one to talk.**" Dark Sonic smirked defiantly. "**Remind me who it was that launched an entire planet against Eggman.**"

"_Good times._" Sonic sighed pleasantly.

Unfortunately, the Sonic Team seems to be having a streak of overconfidence lately. If they had taken a moment to think it over, they would have realized that there were ten Twilights in the beginning and only nine of them have been destroyed. The remaining sword-wielding Twilight was crawling along the ground like a shadow – silent and cunning. The sword-wielder cautiously made its way around the edges of the street and climbed the tavern wall until it was directly behind the Keyblade Master. This was the perfect time. Without alerting the Sonic Team, the remaining Twilight ripped away from the wall with its scimitar blades pointed down to stab the hedgehog's back. Too bad it didn't work. Not even a second after the Twilight left the safety of the shadows; Zant landed above the glowing Heartless and stabbed both cleaver blades crisscrossed through the shadow's chest. The cloud of darkness finally triggered a reaction from the heroes as Zant flipped forward and landed on his feet to the side of the group.

"You can thank me later." Zant said politely.

"Or…I guess I can thank you now." Sonic said uncertainly, scratching his quills. "I mean, you did save us a few times today. I guess that earns some respect." Zant smiled pleasantly. "But that doesn't mean we can still trust you."

"I can live with that." Zant nodded. "All I ask is that you give me a chance to speak with Link and Zelda."

"That's not up to me." Sonic stated, looking to his friend. "Whaddya you guys think?"

"Trusting a psychotic maniac has got to be one of the stupidest things you've ever done." Silver scolded; he sighed. "But I guess we have to give him a little credit."

"He saved Sonic twice already." Storm proclaimed proudly. "I say we give him a chance."

"I don't like it." Angel mumbled. "But I'll go with it."

"Full speed ahead, mate!" Marine cheered.

"Looks like you're in, Zant." Sonic announced.

There was no word to describe the happiness the former Twili usurper felt. If Sonic and his team, who initially loathed the treacherous pile of waste, could show him generosity, then maybe there was a chance to make up with Link and Zelda. Maybe he could have another chance with Midna. With the exception of Marine, everyone felt a little strange to be walking down the street into the main market square with Zant. How often do you team up with a psychotic murderer that tried to kill you over a year ago – Dark Sonic was oddly silent. When they first walked into the bright roads of the town center, the Keyblade Master had some clue as to how Zant has been living in the past year. While the town's folk greeted and smiled to the Sonic Team, hisses and glares were directed to the pale-white Twili following behind them. And judging by how he wasn't reacting to them, Zant must have heard it every day.

"_I can't believe I'm saying this…_" Sonic thought sadly. "_But I actually feel kinda bad for him._"

"**He was a power hungry dictator that ruler through fear and murder.**" Dark Sonic replied; he seemed to find the concept somewhat humorous. "**In all honesty, I think you're making a big mistake.**"

"_Hey, even bad guys deserve second chances._" Sonic retorted.

"**Yes, I'm sure Black Doom would love to join your little picnic.**" Dark Sonic scoffed.

The cobalt hedgehog muttered a few choice words under his breathe, which was kind of pointless since his Heartless persona could read his thoughts. As they pushed through the gilded doorway to the construction site, Zant hung back for a bit and waited for the right moment to show himself. If the guards were going to kill him, he didn't want to make it easy for them. But imagine their surprise when the Sonic Team met not the imperial guards, but the princess of Hyrule itself. Princess Zelda was just as radiant as they remembered her – it was no surprise why she was one of the Princesses of Heart. She was tall and slender with golden-blonde hair that trailed down her back, but with two strands draped across her shoulders. She wore an eloquent white gown with the symbol of the royal family and a violet-purple brassiere, lavishing white gloves, a pair of golden shoulder plates, and a golden crown with a blue opal. For some reason – most likely for protection – she carried a scabbard at her at her side with a thin sword holstered in the folds. The princess of Hyrule was watching the castle construction when see spotted something unfamiliar out of the corner of her eyes. Zelda turned fully with her hand flying to the hilt of her blade when she realized hat the Sonic Team had returned to Hyrule.

"Sonic!" Zelda exclaimed happily. "Silver! Storm! Angel! Marine!"

"Now you I remember, mate." Marin giggled. "How's it going, princess?"

"It's coming along." Zelda answered, waving to the castle construction. "It took thirty years for my ancestors to build this tower, but I always felt that we needed a few changes around here. In a way, I guess we should be thanking Ganondorf. But still, Hyrule owes you many thanks for eliminating such a terrible evil."

"All in a days work." Sonic said smugly; Zant was edging closer to the group. "So…it looks like the Heartless are acting up again. Ya think there's any way we can help out?"

"The royal guards have already been trained to fight the Heartless." Zelda explained. "Link had a hand in teaching all of them how to ward them off and we've been successful so far. But…."

"But what?" Angel asked, noting the princess's hesitation.

"Link...he just…" Zelda said worriedly. "He hasn't been the same recently."

"Is it because of the Heartless?" Silver asked quickly.

"I don't know." Zelda replied honestly. "I mean, he comes and visits from time to time and he acts all cheerful. But sometime, he just acts sort of…depressed." The heroes looked between each other in confusion; Zant crouched low behind Storm. "He sometimes leaves without a word and doesn't come back for several days. I'm worried he might be in trouble and he's not telling me. He keeps telling me that nothing is wrong, but it gets harder to believe him every time."

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

That one didn't come from any of the heroes. Zelda stepped back slightly with her hand already gripped around her blade as the Sonic Team parted down the middle. Zant was kneeling on the ground where the large albatross was once standing, offering a sheepish wave and an uneasy smile to the princess. Pretty stupid move. Quick as a flash, the princess unsheathed her sword and slashed across the air, skillfully missing the heroes, but placing careful aim on the Twili. Yelping in fright, Zant jumped back out of Zelda's range and skidded to a halt a few feet away from the vengeful woman.

"Wait, my princess!" Zant shouted hurried. "It's not what it…"

"Sonic, hold him off!" Zelda commanded, holstering her blade. "I'll go and warn the guards!"

"Wait, Zelda, you don't understand!" Sonic shouted desperately. "Zant's not…"

But by that time, the princess had already rushed through the gateway to warn the imperial guards.

"Well, she took that better than I thought." Storm commented.

"He really hates ya, mate." Marine pointed obviously.

"Somehow, this doesn't surprise me." Zant said depressingly.

Not wanting to get on the wrong side with the royal guards, Zant and the Sonic Team led the scene before they could get the chance. There really wasn't much point in trying to convince Zelda to talk to them if she was only going to impale the former twilight usurper. Maybe they would have better luck with Link. Then again, the green hero was acting rather strange according to Zelda. Sonic couldn't help wondering why Link would run off without telling Zelda, the person he cherished above all others. The Keyblade Master was suddenly ripped from his thoughts as Zant quickly snatched his quills and pulled him pack roughly on the street. And just in time, too. Not a moment sooner, a chestnut mare with a leather crafted saddle trotted past with something glittering in its teeth. Shopkeepers and travelers screamed and jumped out of the way as the frantic horse rushed past them.

"Hey, does anyone else think that horse looks familiar?" Angel asked.

"Hey, Sonic."

The cobalt hedgehog raised his head as another familiar character from their past ran by. He was a strong and fit man with golden-blond hair and pointed ears with a single silver ring in the left lobe. His particular attire consisted of a leafy-green tunic and matching cap, ivory-white pants and undershirt, and leather-brown boots and belt, and a pair of copper-plated bracers. His appearance was only completed by the navy-blue shield baring the royal symbol strapped to his back and the broad sword carried by it. The Hero of Time waved hello and goodbye to his old friends before chasing after the renegade horse. However, he wasn't the only one in pursuit of the mare.

Another man was following in the hero's footsteps, but at a much slower pace. He was a tall and lanky man with matted red hair and pointed ears that were longer than the average Hylian. His attire was mostly consisting of extravagant suit, coat and shoes, each with a different shade of purple. But the most unusual part of this man was the overstuffed bag he was carrying that was cluttered with masks. The group of six watched him pass by in a peculiar manner before they had enough sense to follow them and see what was going on. Thankfully, they didn't have a long run as they found Link having managed to catch up with the wild mare in a deserted alley that led to a dead end. The Hero of Time pulled the reins of the uncontrollable mare, finding it very difficult since she was putting up a nasty fight.

"Calm down, Epona." Link grunted, finally succeeding in securing her. "I swear, you've been acting weird lately."

"If you can't keep that filthy mongrel in the stables," The mask man growled dangerously. "I will report you to the authorities."

"There's no need for that." Link said coolly. Though with some difficulty, he managed to retrieve the item Epona was carrying in her teeth: a golden necklace with a single triangle. "Look, just take it back and forget this ever happened."

The mask man huffed loudly as he snatched the necklace away – he was clearly not so forgiving. But the moment he turned around to walk away, Sonic noticed that his face was stretched with a creepy smile that could give the joker a run for his money. Make a note to avoid him. With his hands closed firmly over the Epona's reins, the Hero of Time walked back diligently with his horse at his side, waving nonchalantly to the returning group.

"Hey guys, sorry about that." Link grinned sheepishly. "I was kinda in a hurry."

"What happened?" Angel asked.

"You know Epona." Link said, patting the mare's side. "When she sees something shiny, she can't resist." Looking over the group, he noticed one unfamiliar character in the pack. "Hey, looks like you picked up another straggler."

"Link, this is our new teammate, Marine." Sonic introduced. "Marine, this is Link, the guy that took down Ganondorf."

"Nice to meet ya, mate." Marine said excitedly, shaking the man's hand. "Sonic's told me a whole lot about you."

"Well, I will admit that I was the one that delivered the final blow." Link said earnestly. "But if Sonic and his friends didn't help, I would have been killed."

"**Humble, too.**" Dark Sonic nodded impressively. "**I'm starting to like this guy.**"

"I suppose you're not too down in the dumps then." Storm stated. "Since you're chasing wild horses in the middle of busy streets."

"Who said I was?" Link questioned cluelessly.

"Princess Zelda." Silver responded. "She's worried 'cause you're always wandering off without telling her. Is there anything wrong going on between you two."

"No way!" Link snapped seriously; his expression softened. "Still…I guess there's no way of deceiving Zelda – she doesn't have the Triforce of Wisdom for nothing. You see, after Ganondorf passed away, I thought it was safe to assume that everything would be peaceful from now on."

"But there's something wrong, mate?" Marine asked.

"No, and that's the problem." Link shook his head. "I never thought I'd say this, but I miss not having enemies trying to kill me every hour of the day. I've been fighting evil monsters and warlords like Ganondorf for so long that I can't see myself not being a hero anymore. I know it sounds selfish, but I miss the adventure and the action."

"I kinda get what you mean." Sonic nodded. "I've been the Keyblade Master for a while, but i can't picture spending a day without destroying a couple of Heartless everywhere I go."

"Exactly." Link said appreciatively. "I just can't believe it's all over."

"Maybe its not."

For the first time during the conversation, the Hero of Time finally noticed Zant standing a few feet away from the group. He wasn't paying any attention to what the others were doing and instead stared with wide eyes down the street.

"Zant?" Link growled, reaching for his sword.

"Whoa, Link, it's not what you think?" Sonic shouted quickly; Link stopped surprisingly. "Zant doesn't want to fight or anything. In fact, he wants to apologize to you and Zelda for all the bad things he's done."

"Is that right?" Link questioned suspiciously.

"Aw, look at him." Marine said sympathetically. "He's so sorry, he's shaking."

"I'm not trembling because I'm sorry." Zant stammered fearfully. "Do you realize what you just handed that man?"

"A necklace, of course." Link said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "There's hundreds of jewelry like that one."

"No, there isn't!" Zant screamed, causing the heroes to jump. "That was the Triforce of Power!"

"What?" The heroes exclaimed and Link followed with. "But that can't be right! I thought the Triforce of Power was destroyed when Ganondorf died!"

"You can't destroy the Triforce – it's an eternal essence." Zant explained. "Each of the Triforces were separated a long time ago and were given by the Goddesses to three who were most worthy of possessing them. Courage was gifted to you, Zelda received Wisdom, and Ganondorf took Power. When Ganondorf was killed, the Triforce of Power was free to choose another that was worthy to receive its gifts."

"But because no one else was worthy, it took on a physical form." Silver concluded.

"Exactly." Zant nodded. "Ganondorf is the only one able to wield the Triforce of Power. If it were to ever find its way back to his corpse, Ganondorf would be raised from the dead and spread his darkness once more!"

"But how can you be sure that's the same one?" Link asked worriedly. "I mean, there's probably hundreds of necklaces like that one."

"Ganondorf used the Triforce of Power to give me my strength!" Zant shouted urgently. "It will be centuries before I forget how it felt!"

"I don't think he's lying, Link." Sonic said pointedly.

"**Anyone that frantic and desperate couldn't lie.**" Dark Sonic added. "**If there's even the slightest chance that Ganondorf can come back...**"

"_We'll stop him before that happens._" Sonic interjected with a serious stare.

All right, I believe you." Link nodded gratefully. "I'm not sure if we can trust you now, but if the Happy Mask Salesman really has the Triforce of Power, we don't have much of a choice. We better head back to the market and talk to him before he sells the Triforce."

"Right behind you." Angel said.

The band of seven – possibly the largest number they've ever had – wasted no time rushing back to the main market center in the city square. There were endless streets filled with all assortments of shops and restaurants that one who was not accustomed to the area would easily get lost. That's why they had Link at their side. The Hero of Time led the Sonic Team up and down the streets, following the shortcuts that he familiarized during his many trips through the market until they reached the dirtiest and dankest road in the entire town. There was only a single shop in sight: The Happy Mask Shop. The walls of the building were grey and grubby with cobwebs littering the window – no one with a sane mind would come down here. Link was the first to enter as he opened the door, revealing that the small shop only had a wooden desk and two selves of masks. The shop owner himself was cleaning a particular odd mask with a single red eye.

"Ah, customer! Welcome to…" The Happy Mask Salesman turned to them with a smile, which instantly faltered when spying the man in green. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing much." Link said politely, most likely trying to get on his good side. "We were just wondering how much it would be to buy that necklace I gave back to you earlier."

"Oh yes, I've heard about you, Link of Ordona." The Happy Mask Salesman smiled with an oily accent. "Word from through the grapevine is that you and the fair Princess Zelda are very intimate with one another." Sonic elbowed the green hero playfully, who was blushing furiously. "It would be a great gift for the princess."

"So you'll give it to us?" Storm said hopefully.

"Of course I will." The Happy Mask Salesman said cunningly. "Provided you can give something priceless and rare in return such as…the Master Sword."

"Excuse me?" Link glared.

"No sword, no deal." The Happy Mask Salesman said finally.

"Well, that was a bust." Marine commented sadly as they walked out of the shop. "What do we do now, mate?"

"We don't really have much of a choice." Zant said calculative. "We must collect the Master Sword and return it in exchange for the Triforce of Power."

"Why don't we just take it?" Angel questioned defiantly.

"You want to stay in a room alone with him for two minutes?" Link replied threateningly. Just the mere image of being alone with that creepy grin was enough to send shivers down the experiment's spine. "Exactly. As much as I hate to do this, we don't have much of a choice. The Master Sword may be a sacred and powerful artifact, but I'm sure the Ancient Sages wouldn't argue if it was done to get back the Triforce of Power. We'll have to head back to the Temple of Time in the Faron Woods."

"And since Midna isn't here, how long will it take to walk there?" Silver asked curiously.

"About two days." Link shrugged.

"WHAT?"

In the meantime, a dark and malevolent shadow was crossing the skyline from the rooftops, jumping from shop to shop in pursuit of his goal. Drago stopped and kneeled over the ledge as he stared down at the open market street filled with beasts from each race in Hyrule. He would fit in perfectly. The mini-demon took in a big breathe, catching all types of scents in the air. But there was one in particular that seemed to attract his attention.

"I smell…" Drago began, breathing in again. "Power."

* * *

**A fresh new start away both good and evil. Will Zant be able to redeem himself to Link and Zelda? Will the heroes be able to recover the Triforce of Power? Or will Black Doom's newest minion succeed where others have failed? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	37. Treasure Hunt, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Thirty-Five: Treasure Hunt, Part 2

Thankfully, the trip didn't require the amount of time that Link had predicted. At the present moment, the scenery took place in the enclosed woodland of the Faron Providence in the northern section of the area. Epona trotted diligently into the open plain between the Faron Forest and the Forest Temple, which bared striking resemblance to an overgrown tree stump. The young mare was only proud to carry her master back to their homeland, but often snorted in irritancy for the second passenger. Link tugged at Epona's reins in any case she would try to buck off Zant sitting behind him – she was more unforgiving than Zelda. The green-clothed swordsman looked around the forest, listening to the familiar chirps and felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. But Link was harshly pulled from memory lane by the sweeping roar of engines that was followed by the arrival of the Sonic Team. The Keyblade Master and friends stopped a short distance away, jumping off and tucking their Extreme Gear under their arms.

"Hey, we made it." Sonic grinned cockily, pushing up his sunglasses. "And it only took four hours."

"I'll admit that the technology of your world is impressive." Link nodded interestingly as he hopped down; Epona took the chance to kick off Zant. "In this world, the only way to get around is by horse back or – in the Twili's case – Twilight Portal."

"The good thing about Extreme Gear is that they never wear out." Storm proclaimed knowledgably. "On most worlds, Extreme Gear uses the air as fuel to propel the main turbines and boast the engines for an inexhaustible supply of energy. But for specific transport such as space travel, Queen Wave developed a special Gravity Meter that collects spatial particles and synthesizes them into artificial air."

"How…" Angel spoke slowly, blinking shockingly. "In the world….did you know that?"

"I helped build them with King Jet and Queen Wave four hundred years ago." Storm laughed sheepishly, ruffling his head feathers.

"_Did you have any idea what he just said?_" Sonic thought amazingly.

"**For once, I don't have an answer for that.**" Dark Sonic replied in awe.

"Strewth, mate!" Marine cheered, waving her arms exaggeratedly. "So that special meter collects space dust and turns it into pretend air to power the Extreme Gears!" The group fell deathly silent and stared at the little girl in amazement. "What? What'd I say?"

"Sure, don't worry about me." The heroes yelped and jumped suddenly; they had completely forgotten about Zant. "Oh, there's no needed to worry about. I was just trampled by a two hundred and fifty pound horse – no problem."

"Heh! Sorry." Link laughed nervously. "But the good news is we're here now."

"So that's it?" Silver asked, narrowing his eyes towards the temple. "That's where the Master Sword is hidden?"

"Uh…not exactly." Link said hesitantly.

The way he said it instantly told Sonic he wasn't going to like what happens next. The Hero of Time gestured for his friends – and Zant – to follow, leaving Epona to guard the Extreme Gear. At first, the Keyblade Master believed that the green-clothed swordsman was leading them up the wooden bridge to the Forest Temple. When will he learn that things are never that easy? Instead, Link shifted directions and stopped just a few feet away from a Deep Gorge that formed to the right of the temple entrance. Marine timidly crawled on the ground and bowed her head over the edge – she shivered when realizing that she couldn't see the bottom. But aside from the bottomless black hole below, Zant was the first to spot a cavern-like platform across the gorge with some shrubbery that stood out from the rest of the surroundings.

"Let me guess." Zant said dryly. "We have to cross this chasm to reach the Sacred Grove?"

"That's the idea." Link answered nonchalantly; the Sonic Team screamed in defiance. "The Sages wanted to make sure that no one could get into the Sacred Grove and take the Master Sword easily. So they made it nearly impossible to enter the Sacred Grove in addition to several guardians along the way."

"So how are we supposed to get across?" Angel questioned curiously. "Is there like some kind of special bridge that pops out or maybe some magic words?"

"Actually, I kinda forgot about that." Link said cluelessly; the Heroes face-faulted. "First time I came here, I was a wolf and Midna used her powers to get us across the Deep Gorge. The second time I came here, Rusl gave me some golden chickens that allowed me to fly across."

"Of course." Zant snorted sarcastically. "I was wondering what we were going to do with these chickens we had lying around."

"Can't we just use the Extreme Gear to cross?" Storm offered hopefully.

"Link is the only one of us capable of pulling the Master Sword." Silver informed dejectedly. "The only problem is that he's too tall and heavy for the weight of the Extreme Gear to carry."

"Hey, I can't be any heavier than this overstuffed turkey!" Link snapped insultingly, pointing to Storm.

"WHAT?" Storm screamed.

And without fail, the Captain of the Guard lost himself in a fiery rampage, which left Silver and Angel to handle damage control. If there was anything that could have made the situation worse, it was Link drawing his own sword ready to fight back against the bulky guard. Zant and Marine of course were the ones pulling the Hylian warrior away. For reasons unknown, Sonic didn't try to stop the fight nor he even notice what was going on. The Keyblade Master was left with a dilemma and this time, he couldn't smash he way through. This puzzle required deep thinking – Sonic was ready to prove that he wasn't as brainless as everyone thought. The Extreme Gears could only carry members of the Sonic Team, which would leave Link out of the equation and render the plan moot. Another option was to have Zant – a Twili – open a Twilight Portal across, but then remembered that all his power came from Ganondorf, who is dead at the moment. A third idea was to climb down the Gorge and climb back up. But Sonic didn't know how long that would take or the possibility of how far the bottom was. The Keyblade Master scratched his quills irritably.

"_There's got to be some way around this._" Sonic moaned agitatedly. "_Some piece that we're missing._"

"**From what I can tell, the Sages did a good job keeping out any unwanted intruders.**" Dark Sonic responded thoughtfully. "**No alternate entrances, no means of transport, no way in.**"

"_But that can't be right._" Sonic stated defiantly. "_If the Sages knew the Master Sword's owner would come, they would have given him some chance of crossing._"

"**Maybe you could go looking for those chickens.**" Dark Sonic said jokingly. "**Or maybe swing on the vines.**"

"_You know..._" Sonic said slowly; his grin grew wider. "_That's not a bad idea._"

"**Wait, what?**" Dark Sonic shrieked fearfully.

With a playful and cocky grin on his face, the Keyblade Master took a few short steps back before dashing over the edge wildly. That got the team's attention. Shrieking in a flurry of panic, Silver and the other heroes sharply crawled over to the edge of the Deep Gorge, watching their unspoken leader freefall into the chasm. But the hedgehog didn't seem worried – quite the contrary, he looked excited. After spending only six second of gliding into the pit, Sonic swiftly snapped his hand out and captured a hanging vine that was attached to the roots of the Forest Temples. The Keyblade Master used the momentum he collected from the fall and swung around in a high arc, successfully bringing him to the other end of the Deep Gorge. Sonic landed – a Cheshire grin on his muzzle – and threw the strong vine across the gorge, making sure that Link had secured the tether.

"Hurry up, Guys!" Sonic yelled and waved. "That sword isn't going to pull itself!"

"I swear, I'm gonna of a heart attack one of these days." Silver murmured as Marine swung over first.

One by one, each member of the group was able to cross over the Deep Gorge through Sonic's genius – and insane – method of improvising. Although, they made sure for Storm to go last…just in case. Upon entering the Sacred Grove, the cobalt hedgehog felt a little let down. Sonic had expected the unreachable land to be somewhat more impressive, but the Sacred grove looked just like the rest of the forest: clustered and humid. But out of the corner of his eyes Zant thought he saw a shadow move between the branches, which was only confirmed by the strangle rustling that reached only Angel's ears. Someone was watching them. But that was the least of their concerns as the Sonic Team edged closed into the dense woodlands, surprisingly finding a multitude of pathways that most likely led to every area of the grove.

"Which way now, mate?" Marine blinked confused, scratched her head.

"I don't know." Link responded simply; the team face-faulted. "The Sacred Grove is a labyrinth of woodlands, streams, and stone that would take a lifetime to cover. The Sages created this area so that if anyone unworthy entered, they would be lost forever until they died or became a Stalfos."

"Then how are we supposed to find the Master Sword?" Zant exclaimed fearfully.

As if on command, the shadow that had been moving around them dropped from the highest branch and landed on a stump in front of the group, twirling in a flourishing manner. The new character looked to be a child made from dark-grey wood with viciously-red eyes and a wide, sharp-toothed smile stretched across his face – Marine hid her face in Sonic's fur, shivering. The unnatural child wore a bright orange tunic with a wooden necklace holding different colored feather, a musky-brown hat, a pair of wood-brown boots, a leaf-like cape, and carried an oil lantern in one hand and a three-horned trumpet in the other. This beast was clearly a mischief maker. The creepy horn player turned his vivacious eyes on the Sonic Team, which seemed strangely familiar to the group of animals. It wasn't long before the idea struck them.

"Majora!" The Sonic Team screamed simultaneously, summoning their weapons.

"You know him?" Zant blinked.

"He's one of the guys working for Order XIII." Storm explained seriously. "He was causing a lot of trouble in Hell. Except…" He stretched his head in thought; the idea seemed to be shared with the rest of the team. "He wasn't really much of a fighter. Actually, except for that illusion, he was pretty much helpless."

"**He's got a point, you know.**" Dark Sonic shrugged.

"_Still we can't take any chances with the Order._" Sonic responded.

""Order, hmm…" The wooden child hummed playfully. "I'll take some leeche nuts, cattle tail, and a glass of juice, please."

"Is that…Is that a joke?" Sonic's eyes twitched; the Sonic Team groaned inwardly. "That…that was terrible."

"**They live in medieval time.**" Dark Sonic excused. "**They don't understand the modern foundations for a good joke. Then again, you're not much of a comedian yourself.**"

"_At least my jokes as old and rust!_" Sonic retorted.

"**Fair point.**" Dark Sonic nodded.

"I think you are all under the wrong impression." Link said collectively, walking closer to the wooden child. "When an adult gets lost in the woods, they become Stalfos. But when a child wanders in and losses himself in the forest, they turn into a Skull Kid – a short, irritable, mischievous imp with no self control." Sonic grabbed the back of Marine's shirt to stop her from running away. "This particular Skull Kid is the guardian of the Sacred Grove and is the only one that knows where the Master Sword is hidden."

"Then he'll take us to the Master Sword?" Angel asked hopefully.

"It's not that simple." Link sighed, ruffling his hair.

"Where's the fun in that?" The Skull Kid giggled gleefully. He performed a graceful back-flip and landed on a thin branch several feet above them. "How 'bout a game of hide-n-seek? Catch me and I'll take you to the shiny sword."

"Hide-n-seek – is he serious?" Silver asked awkwardly.

"Unfortunately, he is." Link replied tiredly.

"Strewth! This is my game, mates!" Marine shouted proudly, pointing to herself. "I once played a game of hide-n-seek and no one found me for three weeks." Most of the adults stared strangely, Sonic shook his head, and Angel muffled her laughter behind her hands. "What? There somethin' in my teeth, mate?"

"**I can see why no one found her.**" Dark Sonic laughed freely.

"_Shut up!_" Sonic snapped

"Ready – set – GO!" Skull Kid cheered before vanishing into the canopy.

Shortly following his disappearance, the siren sound of a trumpet echoed in a melancholy fashion. And just before it faded out of sight, Link managed to spot a flicking light of an oil lamp down one of the tunnels. Since Link had more experience with this unorthodox creature and his methods, the Sonic Team and Zant simply followed in his footsteps deeper into the forest. The place was unbelievable. Everywhere you turn, the forest looked exactly the same in through each tunnel – it was no wonder people end up getting lost. Left, left, right, straight, right – Sonic pretty much lost track of where they were going from that point. As they wandered deeper into the woods, the effects of the endless forestry seemed to be taking an effect on everyone. Sonic was worried that they would get separated and he'd be unable to protect them. Storm afraid of whatever might be lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce on them in the blink of an eye. Though Silver seemed more calm and collected than the others, he could not hide the feeling that he was slowly suffocating from the closeness of the trees. Angel was more concerned about finding the exit after retrieving the Master Sword and Marine sincerely hoped she wouldn't become a Skull Kid. The only ones that didn't seem affected by the nature of the Sacred Grove was Link and Zant, who most likely had previous experiences in these types of atmospheres. Times escaped the heroes as Link followed the trail of light up a fallen tree trunk that led to the second story region of the forest. Zant was second to follow the path when he looked down on the animals behind them, taking note of their mixed expressions of fear and doubt.

"Link, maybe you should go on ahead." Zant suggested sympathetically; Link looked back curiously. "It seems that the power of the Sages is affecting their mental state and probing their fears. Perhaps it would be better if they turned back."

"N-n-no." Sonic stammered hesitantly, looking over his shoulder. "We're fine. We've come all this way to help Link get the Master Sword back – there's no way we're leaving him now."

"But you're literally shaking." Zant proclaimed vividly, looking them over. "And the child looks like she's about to pass out."

"I'm no child; I am captain!" Marine exclaimed prideful; the heroes jumped. "No bloody forest is gonna scare off Capt. Marine the Raccoon – greatest captain of the seven seas!" Suddenly, a stick fell from a branch and tapped her shoulder. "AAHH! Don't eat me! I'm too young to die!"

"**Well, that was predictable.**" Dark Sonic commented.

"Marine's little games aside." Silver said seriously; the youngest was clinging to her surrogate brother. "It's our duty to make sure that the Heartless and the Order don't get their hands on the Triforce of Power. And if it means we have to face our fears in the middle of a dark and endless forest, then we'll do it."

Though Link was a kind and gentle soul, he did know when a sense of duty was needed. And if he was to prevent his archenemy from being revived, he didn't need distractions like this. But they were his friends – he couldn't abandon them. The Hero of Hyrule crossed his arms and bowed his head in thought, equally trying to ignore the depressing song being played by the Skull Kid. That's when it hit him. Link slapped his forehead for not thinking of it in the first place before reaching deep into his tunic for an unseen object. The Sonic Team momentarily forgot their fears in place of curiosity as the golden-haired swordsman retrieved a powder-blue ocarina, eerily similar to Majora's. But what good was a musical instrument gonna be at a time like this. The Hylian Hero paid no mind to the stares as he calmly took a seat on a fallen log, gently pressed his lips against the pipe. Link began playing the same melody as the Skull Kid; only this one was more happy and upbeat. From the first note that played, all of their worries and doubts vanished without a trace – Skull Kid's spell had been broken.

"_Wow, he's good._" Sonic thought impressively. "_Who would have thought a simple song would be so powerful._"

"**It appears that in this world, music has a great power.**" Dark Sonic stated thoughtfully. "**This could be a clue to defeating Majora's magic next time we come across him.**"

"_I'm not too worried about him._" Sonic said, his head bobbing to the beat. "_But you got to admit, it's a catchy tune._"

The others seemed to think so as well. Silver was reclining on a wooden stumped, Zant sat silently and listened to the melody, and Storm, Angel, and Marine were seen dancing - Angel was the only one that had any skills. As Link's song was reaching its climax, Skull Kid suddenly dropped from the canopy and plopped in the middle of the Sonic Team. His scary grin was replaced by a deep frown as he childishly stomped his feet, waving his lantern and flute.

"No fair, no fair, no fair!" Skull Kid whined loudly. "You weren't supposed to break my magic spell! That's cheat! You big green, floppy hat-wearing, meanie!"

The next thing he knew, Skull Kid was surrounded with seven weapons pointed at his face.

"Some one explain to me why the guy hiding just dropped right in front of us." Storm chuckled.

"You're bad at hide-n-seek, mate." Marine giggled.

"_Never thought I'd say this, but he make Dark-Chao look smart._" Sonic thought.

"**Maybe they're related.**" Dark Sonic suggested.

"Alright, Skull Kid, we played your game." Link said seriously, grabbing the mischievous imp by his collar. "Now take us to the Master Sword."

"Party pooper." Skull Kid pouted. "No cake for you."

Based on the glares he was receiving, the Skull Kid knew he wasn't going to get any laughs out of this group. Muttering darkly under his breath, the wooden imp waved his trumpet in a circle before pointing to a wall of ivy on the far end of the area. The vines and branches came alive and parted down the middle, forming an archway into a lush plain that stood out from the rest of the forest. Thanks to the breaches of sunlight that illuminated the clearing, Link could see his prize waiting for him. The Sonic Team, Zant, and Link left the Skull Kid to return to whatever it is he does, slowly entering the true Sacred Grove. There, standing in the heart of the clearing, was the Master Sword. A blade folded from the finest silver steel – not a speck of dust touched the surface – a blue handle shaped like the wings of an eagle and the proud symbol of the Triforce at the hilt. The Blade of Evil's Bane glimmered brilliantly against the sun's rays as if begging for its master to reclaim it. And since Marine was the only one that has never seen the Master Sword up close, it was only natural for her to be entranced by its first appearance.

"Ooh, shiny." Marine said in awe.

"It's more than shiny, Marine." Angel explained brightly, watching Link tentatively step forward. "The Master Sword is the greatest of all swords in universe – even more than the Keyblade. Only those of pure hearts can touch the Master Sword and all others would burn on contact. The Master Sword is the reason Link is so famous."

"You're wrong, Angel." Sonic smiled, crossing his arms. "It's the other way around."

"**It seems Link has had a good influence on you.**" Dark Sonic said surprisingly.

"_What can I say?"_ Sonic shrugged. "_I admire the guy._"

With the Hero of Hyrule, Link had taken his final step up the Pedestal of Time, looking down on the weapon that had aided him through many perils. All the times Link had come to draw the Master Sword to defend the kingdom, now he was going to pawn it off to a mask-loving lunatic. It was like betraying a best friend. But deep down, Link knew that if there was anything the Master Sword would do to keep Ganondorf from coming back, it would gladly accept the role. Taking a solemn breath, the green-clothed warrior wrapped his hands around the handle of the legendary blade, ripping it sharply up from the stone that encased it. Then was a small blink of light emitting from the pedestal during its removal, which apparently still radiated within the sword itself. Link lifted the Blade of Evil's Bane to the sky to flash against the breaching light, cherishing the feel of his prized possession returned.

"Well, that was dramatic." Zant commented; Link face-faulted. "Now that we have the Master Sword, we should return to Hyrule immediately. We don't know how long until that unholy man pawns off the necklace."

"What'd we have here?" A demonic growl echoed. "Starting the party without me. Well, I hope you saved time for the barbeque."

Just from the tone voice, he wasn't friendly. The Sonic Team and Zant withdrew their personal weapons while Link removed the shield on his back – he didn't know what to do with the second sword. Unbelievably, Drago had managed to follow the band of seven deep into the Sacred Grove without falling prey to the maze or Skull Kid's magic. The only logical explanation was that he understood quite a bit about magic himself. Black Doom's newest minion stepped lightly into the clearing, shielding his eyes from the light – it was an unnaturally bright.

"Who're you supposed to be?" Storm questioned.

"Once you learn my father's name, you'll know to fear me." Drago cackled confidently. "I am Drago, the son of Shendu!"

The forest fell silent with the exception of the crickets. Sonic and Silver glanced at each other in confusion, Storm tapped his chin thoughtfully, Marine scratched her head, and Zant and Link shrugged to one another.

"Uh…we don't know who that is." Angel stated.

"You don't?" Drago questioned surprisingly, looking very disappointed. "Damn, that ruins my whole introduction."

"What are you doing here in the first place?" Link questioned seriously. "This is sacred ground."

"I was following a scent of power that brought me here." Drago explained lightly. "Back when I was in town, I smell three similar scents: One was in the market, one was in the castle, and one was headed towards this spot."

"You think he smelled the Triforce?" Marine asked curiously. "Do ya think he knows the Happy Mask Salesmen has the Triforce of Power, mate?"

"MARINE!" The group exclaimed; Marine jumped.

"Ganondorf's Triforce is fair game, huh?" Drago sniggered cunningly. "Oh, Black Doom's gonna get a kick out of this."

"Black Doom?" Sonic repeated with his brow raised. "You working for Black Doom now. Man, he's really running out of options, isn't he? First he hires a guy with a giant walrus mustache and now he looking for geckos with zits."

"I'm not a gecko!" Drago flared.

"A newt, maybe?" Sonic suggested tauntingly. The fire demon didn't take too kindly to this insult and opened his jaws, spilling out a column of flames. Link, Zant, and the Sonic Team barely ducked out of the way as the fire pillar flew overhead. "Oh, so he's a dragon. My bad."

"**Black Doom always did have low expectations.**" Dark Sonic proclaimed jokingly.

"Before I make a run for the Triforce…" Drago snarled confidently; his lips coated in fire. "Let's have a cook off."

* * *

**Fire Demon: Drago**

"So, who wants to fry?" Drago growled in a challenging manner.

"I'm not scared of you!" Storm yelled bravely, pounding his chest in emphasis. "For the kingdom and the glory!"

"Any idea what he's talkin' 'bout?" Sonic asked; Angel shrugged.

Despite the various warnings Silver made, the hulking Albatross charged head-on from the dragon teen with his shield pressed in front. Drago's natural counteraction was to throw his signature flame breathe at the overgrown turkey, smirking with satisfactions when the fire connected. His grin was quickly wiped away. Storm's shield effortlessly repelled the flames and Storm continued undisturbed – the Gaia Twin's magic was strong. The Fire Demon growled in frustration and threw out his claws to meet with the face of Storm's shield, effectively halting the albatross's stampede. It was a stalemate between the two fighters as they were both equally matched in terms of strength. But what the Captain of the Guard didn't realize is that dragons don't have a tendency to fight fair. Once coming to terms that his dragon strength wasn't going to be enough, Drago bowed his eyes and narrowed his eyes to the ground, sensing a perfect opportunity. The teenage dragon spat on Storm's shoes, which would normal be considered more disgusting than dangerous if it wasn't for the fact that it was pure lava. It took only a few second for Storm to realize that the material of his shoe was burn and flapped his arms in a panicking motion, trying to throw off his shoe. Perfect. Drago pulled back his fist and slammed into the albatross's beak, throwing him deliberately into the dirt and skidding back a few feet.

"Oh…cheap shot." Storm murmured dizzily.

"I don't play fair." Drago said as he stood over the bird, grabbing the collar of his jacket. "I play to win. And if there's one thing you shouldn't forget, it's that dragons always win."

"You must be the exception then."

The next thing he knew, the Fire Demon was blinded by two pink-furred paws. Drago snarled instinctively and started swinging his claws around randomly, must to the amusement of the pink experiment sitting on his shoulders. Finally collecting himself, the teenaged dragon reached up with hopes of strangling his target. However, his plans were shortly charged as Angel snapped her antenna around Drago's wrist to gain complete control of their movements. And to add insult to injury, the pink experiment proceeded to punch the living daylights of the Fire Demon with his own claws.

"Stop hitting yourself." Angel laughed, forcing Drago to jab his forehead. "Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself."

"Man, that joke is old!" Drago snapped irritably; he uppercut his own jaw.

"I know, but it's still funny." Angel giggled; Drago poked himself in the eye.

If there was anything that could have hurt Drago's pride more, it was being used as a puppet. With his hands…tied up at the moment, Drago literally fell back on another option. The Fire Demon threw himself bodily backwards, causing Angel to lose her balance and roll away before collecting herself. And not a moment later, the pink experiment was forced to back flip into the trees before a great ball of fire crashed in the spot where she once stood, leaving traces of the heat. His mind still riled by the humiliation he suffered, Drago inhaled deeply to prepare his signature fire blast. Fortunately for the heroes, a geyser of water smacked into the teenaged dragon and threw him to the far end of the clearing. Drago lifted himself by his elbows, glaring at Silver, who was commanded a halo of water floating around him with his scepter. A thick layer of steam breeched through Drago's jagged teeth – his fire breath was extinguished.

"You're all washed up." Silver commented jokingly.

"_When did he start using puns?_" Sonic blinked surprisingly. "_Could use a little work, though._"

"**What I don't understand is why there has to be puns in every fight.**" Dark Sonic said exasperated.

"_It's an icon._" Sonic proclaimed. "_You can't have a real hero-villain fight without a few puns being tossed around._"

"**Higher Powers help us all.**" Dark Sonic groaned.

"You're gonna pay, shrimp!"Drago roared furiously. "You think you're hot stuff? Let's turn up the heat!"

Dark Sonic moaned inwardly. The Babylon mystic swiped his scepter across the air twice, commanding two fragments of his water ring to lash in Drago's direction. Once again, a dragon's power goes beyond the standard. In addition to his fire breath and dragon strength, the Fire Demon was gifted with advanced speed that he used to dodge Silver's water whips. The teenaged dragon was just a blur of green as he dashed left and right and up, effortlessly avoiding the multitude of attacks sent his way by Silver. Fearing that his tactics were failing, Silver commanded all the water in his reach to form a massive ball of liquid to hover slightly over his head – Drago couldn't avoid this. And apparently, he wasn't going to. Without the Babylon mystic even noticing, the teenaged dragon dashed across the clearing and grappled the hedgehog's face before slamming his head to the ground. The water ball evaporated into the air shortly after Silver lost consciousness. Drago was starting to feel elated – he may have lost his fire, but he had managed to knock out two Babylonians and threw off the pink menace. Who was next? The Fire Demon was soon broken from his thoughts when he started feeling and annoying pounding against his right thigh. Drago looked down and spotted Marine beating her tiny fists against his leg. Was she serious? Without really putting much effort, Drago pressed his palms on Marine's forehead and kept her within arms reach, kneeling down with a bored expression.

"What are you doing?" Drago questioned, ignoring the girls fist flailing close to his face.

"I gonna beat you up, mate!" Marine exclaimed. Drago sighed and pushed the rascally raccoon on her butt. "Ow…that smarts, mate."

"Seriously, you got anything better than that?" Drago asked, resting his chin on his fist.

"Hmm…" Marine hummed, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Oh! I've got this!"

The youngest of the Sonic Team kicked back to her feet and reached deeper into her pocket, whipping out the emerald orb given to her by the Gaia Twins. Drago raised his brow curiously. The Fire Demon did sense and unusual power radiating from the glass sphere and was drawn in by its emerald glow. For one moment, Drago saw his reflection in the surface of the tool. The next moment, he was sent flying into the Pedestal of Time after a glowing flail appeared from the emerald orb and smacked him in the face. Drago lifted himself up and groaned dizzily, rubbing the sore spot on his forehead from where the medieval weapon connected with his skull.

"Ugh, I can't believe I fell for that." Drago sneered.

"Well, Black Doom never did hire the smartest minions." Drago growled and glared at the cobalt hedgehog standing against him. "So what'd ya say we make this yourself? You leave the Triforce of Power alone, get your tail off this world, and tell Doomy he doesn't stand a chance."

"Yep, you're definitely everything Doom said you would be." Drago proclaimed; Sonic grinned pleasingly. "Arrogant, cocky, dimwitted, narrow-minded, and an over inflated ego."

"_Ouch. Low blow._" Sonic grimaced.

"**I think he's got you pegged.**" Dark Sonic snickered.

"I'm different from egghead." Drago stated confidently, snapped his claws. "Let's turn up the heat!"

"Did you use that one already?" Marine asked distantly.

A throbbing neck could definitely been seen in Drago's forehead. The teenaged dragon lashed his claws twice separately before bringing them together for a combined downwards thrust, all of which were deflected by the Kiryu. Thinking it to be the perfect chance for a counterattack, Sonic ducked to the ground and twirled the Keyblade in a full circle around Drago's ankles. Unfortunately, the teenaged dragon caught wind of the attack and skipped off the ground to evade the strike. With Sonic still recovering from his attack, Drago saw an opening in Sonic's defenses and swiped his claws across the Keyblade Master's face. Much to the Fire Demon's amazement, his claws few found useless as they clashed against a patch of jade-green dragon scales that replace cobalt-blue fur. Drago landed with a stupefied expression – his claws were chipped slightly – and stared as Sonic deactivated Kiryu's Keychain Ability.

"Ok, that's just cheap!" Drago yelled, pointing a finger to Sonic outrageously. "Haven't you ever heard of copyright?"

"Ya think we can avoid a lawsuit." Sonic asked worriedly, scratching his quills. "I'm already in enough trouble with Sega and Square."

"What's he talking about?" Link questioned confused; the others had no idea.

"You are so going down." Drago sneered menacingly. "And after that, you are so sued."

"_Great, just what I needed._" Sonic thought sarcastically.

Roar in a fashion true to his dragon heritage, Drago jumped forward and threw his right claw ahead for a killer strike. Sonic's original intention was to avoid the assault until he felt a familiar sensation in his heart pulling him towards another method of fighting. The Keyblade instantly recognized this feeling: Reaction Command. Following his heart, Sonic lifted his left foot and avoid Drago's claw, which landed in that previous position. The cobalt hedgehog pressed his foot back down on the teen dragon's wrist, earning a paralyzed scream from the lizard. At the next moment, Sonic raised his right foot to connect with Drago's jaw and flipped himself skyward over the Fire Demon's head. And as gravity took a hold of the spiky-haired swordsman, Sonic grasped the Keyblade with both hands and brought the hilt down to slam against Drago's forehead. The teen demon dropped face first into the ground a remained motionless for several long moments, possibly signaling that he had been knocked out.

"Nap time, lizard lips." Sonic chuckled.

"**Please stop the puns!**" Dark Sonic pleaded.

**Drago: Defeated**

* * *

"Excellent work, Sonic the Hedgehog." Zant nodded as the group gathered. "I commend you on your skills as a swordsman and a tactician – that vile demon didn't stand a chance."

"But did you have to take him out so quickly." Link asked disappointed, replacing his old blade for the Master Sword. "I just got the Master Sword back and I didn't even get a chance to use it."

"If we don't get Triforce of Power, I have a feeling you'll get that chance soon enough." Angel said unnaturally serious. "We should get back to Castle Town immediately before Black Doom decides to show his ugly mug and take the Triforce himself."

"Ok, let's get out of this forest." Sonic nodded in agreement. He took a few feet back into the forest labyrinth before turning to Link with a sheepish expression. "Um…how do we get out of this forest, anyway?"

"Uh…" Link stammered cluelessly.

The Sonic Team face-faulted for a third time – Link was far from helpful. Coming to agreement that the only way out of the Sacred Grove was to find Skull Kid, the heroes collected Silver and Storm before marching off into the great unknown. Hopefully, the wooden imp was stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice. But as the band of seven journeyed deeper into the dark forest, Drago's claw gripped a large wad of dirt and crushed it furiously. And just above the recovering Fire Demon an unknown figure with a single red eye was reclining in the canopy, watching the scene with amusement.

"My master's power still lives, does it?" The red-eyed character snickered darkly. "This is too good to be true. You will have your comeuppance soon enough, Link."

* * *

**Success and defeat come in many forms. Will the Sonic Team be able retrieve the Triforce of Power in time? Will Drago manage to steal the Triforce under their noses? And who is this third party that has entered the game? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	38. Treasure Hunt, Part 3

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Thirty-Six: Treasure Hunt, Part 3

Time and luck was not on their side. Link, Zant, and the Sonic Team had somehow managed to navigate their way through the Sacred Grove without the assistance of the Skull Kid, but the irritable wood nymph decided to play a little joke. The little prankster had scattered the gang's Extreme Gear in the most random places that led to a number of strange and comical results. One of which resulted in Sonic getting his tail handed to him by a baboon with a boomerang. If there was any positive aspect that came from the trip, it was Epona kicking Skull Kid in the face when he tried to steal the wild mare. The team of seven finally reached the entrance to Castle Town with Link make sure once more that the Master Sword was still secure in its scabbard.

"You know…" Link said absentmindedly as the team walked through the gate. "It's kinda weird to have the Master Sword again. It's almost like a piece of myself that went missing has suddenly returned."

"Well, cherish what little time you have left." Zant said coolly. "After we trade it to the Happy Mask freak for Ganondorf's Triforce fragment, I doubt you'll have the chance to see it again."

"Let's just hope he doesn't find out what it really is." Storm said pointedly; Angel sat on his shoulder as they enter the town square. "If he ever found out that he had a piece of the Triforce, he'd probably ask to be made king of Hyrule."

"Good point." Link nodded.

During the discussion, Sonic's mind happily drifted off to his previous fight with Drago in the Sacred Grove. He, the Keyblade Master of Twilight, had just defeated a dragon like in the fairy tales. Ok, a half-dragon, but still a dragon nonetheless. Sure the others were perfectly capable of beating the Fire Demon on his own – he wasn't exactly that tough – but it was Sonic who delivered the final blow with his Reaction Command. Speaking of which, the cobalt hedgehog had wondered why the Reaction Command had been so absent lately – was he getting a cold or something. The Keyblade Master's train of thought was quickly derailed when he unconsciously walked into Link, who had stopped suddenly in near the fountain of the square.

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Sonic questioned impertinently.

"Wait a minute." Link said suspiciously, holding his hand to silence them. "Listen…"

The Sonic Team became deathly silent, which seemed to be killing Marine from the inside – She had never lasted two minutes without shouting some random phrase. The group of animals didn't know what they were supposed to be listening for, but Zant seemed to share a similar thought with the green-clothed swordsman. The former usurper of the Twilight Realm swiftly unsheathed his cleaver blades at the exact moment raised his shield and sword in defense. Where they paranoid? Taking another glance of the area, Sonic was unable to spot anything remotely out of place. No one was around for a mile, all the shops had been closed off, and there wasn't a single noise to disturb them.

"**But maybe that's the problem.**" Dark Sonic suggested.

"I don't hear anything!" Marine shouted randomly; the heroes jumped and screamed. "What? I said I didn't hear anything."

"That's why I'm worried." Link said sternly; his fingers twitched with anxiety. "Castle Town – even at night – is never this quite. There's always something going on and the stores never close around here. Something's wrong."

"What do you think scared them off?" Silver questioned worried.

"Stop your whining and hand it over!" A familiar, demonic tone echoed.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" A smaller voice snapped harshly. "I'm trading this necklace for a valuable treasure. This necklace will make me rich beyond my wildest dreams!"

Looking to his left, Storm was the first to spy two shadows racing across the alley walls, rapidly growing smaller as their occupants approached. Each member of the group withdrew their respective weapon and waited patiently for their incoming targets. Silver and Marine, who were positioned in the front, were roughly pushed aside as the Happy Mask Salesman bustled around the corner, clutching the Triforce of Power in his spidery fingers. Shortly following him was Drago – the Fire Demon skidded to a halt temporarily and expelled a massive fireball from his lips at the scurrying human. It was only fortunate for the deceptive salesman that Storm jumped in the path of the flaming sphere and reflected it to the ground with his shield. A thick layer of smoke breached through the demon's teeth and steam hissed through his nostrils. This was supposed to be a routine pick up and those Keyblade punks always had to get in the way.

"You might wanna give up now, Drago." Sonic smirked confidently, holding the Kiryu forward. "I don't wanna embarrass you by whipping your tails twice in the same day."

"I'm just gonna say this once." Drago hissed suppressively. "Get out of my way!"

But the seven heroes stood their ground – he didn't have time for this. The half-demon warrior bended his knees and tightened his feet with much aggression that his nails were starting to pierce his inherited scales. All of the heroes were freaked out by his performance, especially after Drago's eyes started rolling to the back of his skull and his body was vibrating harshly. In the next moment, Sonic quickly grabbed Marine by her shoulders and pulled her to the ground as Drago unleashed the largest fireball anyone had ever seen. Link, Zant and the Sonic Team ducked out of the way in time and the fireball flew over their heads, which promptly ignited a blacksmith's workshop. Ironic. But this, however, turned out to be a distraction as Drago was seen jumping over the cowering team of seven and charging after the Happy Mask Salesman.

"Well, he did ask nicely." Marine said meekly.

"He's headed for the palace!" Link shouted urgently. "We have to hurry!"

"Can't we just stay here instead?" Storm asked hopefully.

"Come on, you big chicken." Angel groaned, lifting the albatross over her head.

Possibly faster than any member of the Sonic Team, Link had collected himself and dashed after Drago, who was making his way to the Hyrule Castle construction site. Thankfully, the palace gates were sealed shut as the Fire Demon chased the Happy Mask Salesman halfway through the courtyard. It was only in due time that the teenaged lizard managed to catch up to his prey, successfully snatching the Triforce of Power from his grasp. However, the Fire Demon's celebration was short lived before the Happy Mask Salesman swiped the Triforce back into his possession after running from the _opposite _direction. Drago did a double take – this guy was a real freak. But if there was one advantage the teenaged lizard had over his adversary, it was his inherited demons powers, which included dragon speed. So by the time Sonic and the others had arrived on the scene, Drago was holding the Happy Mask Salesman at arms length with holding the Triforce of Power out of his reach.

"No fair!" The Happy Mask Salesman whined.

"Hah! Looks like I win!" Drago yelled pleasingly.

"I'll take that, thank you."

Without Drago or the Salesman realizing it, Zant had leapt over their heads and snagged the Triforce of Power out of the Fire Demon's claws in midair. It took a minute for the teenaged gecko to realize his hand was empty. The small feud between the salesman and the Fire Demon was temporarily put on hold as they set their sights on a common enemy: Zant. The former usurper had landed gracefully back to his feet and looked over his shoulder, quickly making a dash for freedom with Drago and the Happy Mask Salesman hot on his trail. Though he knew he was in mortal danger, the cheers from his comrades seemed to put his mind at ease – they finally trusted him.

"Nice one, Zant!" Sonic howled with praise. "Whatever you do, don't drop it!"

"**Why'd you have to go and say that?**" Dark Sonic sighed disappointingly. "**Now his IS going to drop it.**"

"_What makes you so sure?_" Sonic questioned blandly.

"**Whenever you say something, it always turns out bad.**" Dark Sonic stated pointedly.

"_Does not!_" Sonic pouted.

"Watch out behind ya, mate!" Marine screamed helpfully.

He didn't really need to be told what he already knows. As Zant quickly approached the farthest wall in the courtyard, Drago and the Happy Mask Salesman were only a feet behind the former usurper. Once they reached the wall, there would be no place left to run. Or so they believed. At the last moment, Zant pressed his feet against the surface of the wall and flipped backwards over their heads, watching with amusement as the dynamic duo charged straight into the wall. Naturally, the Happy Mask Salesman lost consciousness at the exact moment of contact, but Drago's high endurance only left him a little dizzy. Link and the others were practically on their knees in laughter. The Fire Demon shook his head to clear his vision of spots and glared menacingly at Zant, who was skipped backwards with confidence.

"Had enough you over grown…" Zant began.

Unfortunately, Dark Sonic's predication came true. Mostly thanks to his overconfidence, the former usurper of Twilight smacked his head into the wall behind him and accidentally relinquished his hold of the Triforce. Drago laughed when seeing Zant bended on the ground, holding the spot where his head collided with the brick. And to make matters worse for the group, the teenaged lizard demon used his tail to pull the Triforce of Power off the ground and transferred it to his hand.

"**Told you.**" Dark Sonic said superiorly.

This game's been funny, but playtimes over, kiddies." Drago proclaimed victoriously, revealing all of his pointed teeth. "After I absorb the power of the Triforce, I'll be the most powerful being in the universe – I'll be the one calling the shots and Black Doom will be **my **errand boy. After so many years of being a slave to others, it's my turn to take control."

"Wow, someone's bitter." Angel commented.

"Angel…" Silver hissed urgently. "Now's not the time to make fun of the giant dragon with the Triforce."

"Anyone got a plan to get it back?" Link asked, leering at the dragon demon.

"Don't bother, half-pints!" Drago shouted certainly, jangling the necklace in his claws. "Because with the Triforce's power, I'm gonna rock this world!"

He seemed to be quite literal in this point. The Fire Demon tightened his grip on the golden triangle and the entire tow seemed to tremble in his presence. Sonic and his team where thrown off their feet while Link steadied himself in a kneeling position while settling his spiteful glare at the dragon demon. The cobalt hedgehog pushed himself up by his elbows and soon realized that the Fire Demon wasn't responsible for the sudden tremor. This fact was made apparent as the teenaged lizard could be seen flailing his arms in an attempt to maintain his balance – He failed and fell on his tail. But if Drago hadn't accessed the Triforce of Power, then what in Kingdom Hearts. A sharp gasp was heard from Marine and Sonic turned his head with worry, only finding that the rascally raccoon was staring at something in the sky. The other members of the team followed her line of vision and was amazed to witness the opening of a Twilight Portal – it could be easily identified by it electronic appearance. A dark shape dropped from the spiraling vortex with Twilight Portal closing in its wake. The unknown object fell closer and closer to the ground, only to stop three feet above it, yelling with an eccentric tone.

"I'm back!" Midna cheered.

"Oh no!" Sonic moaning inwardly.

None would have predicted the return of the true princess of the Twilight Realm: Midna. The little imp was roughly the same size as Marine with a skin pigment that left her body white and black at random parts with blue circuit-like tattoos that glowed against the darker parts of her skin. Following the destruction of the Fused Shadows at the hand of Ganondorf, Midna's full face was seen and revealed dark, pointed ears, deep-orange eyes, and flaming-orange hair that seemed to move of its own accord. Being the only one that has never properly introduced to Midna, Marine was vaguely curios of why Sonic was suddenly hiding behind Storm and Angel. The mischievous Twilight Princess glided around the courtyard like a ricocheting bullet, stopping only when colliding with Drago. The sudden impact caused the teenaged lizard to stagger slightly and release his hold on the Triforce. Silver used this opportunity to his advantage and summoned his psychic powers to carry the golden necklace into his open palm.

"Link! It's been eons!" Midna screamed joyously, never realizing she was hugging a dragon. "Link, you princely little muffin, you!" She disappeared into the shadows, only to reappear on Drago's shoulders. "Ruling an entire Twilight Realm can be so lonely without a friend. And to think I left you forlorn and Midna-less…OH THE HUMANITY!"

"Uh…Midna." Link said softly; this was just too funny.

"Hey, Link, you're a little greener than usual." Midna noted curiously, spinning the half-demon in a full circle. "I always said you should find a new wardrobe, but when have you ever listened. You would think that dating a princess would have opted to pick out more decent cloths." She popped in front of the dragon, holding him by his hands. "Wait, don't tell me. Am I being a pest – just a short impish pest? Ah, who cares, Link! I'm just so glad to see you!"

"Midna." Link repeated a little louder.

The overexcited Twilight Princess final broke from her rant and looked over to find her old friend standing a short distance away with a smug smile and his arms crossed. Midna looked from Link to Drago once, then twice, then a third time, and then one last time to make sure she didn't make a mistake. She made a big one, but at least they got the Triforce back. The shadowy imp quickly released Drago's hands, letting him fall backwards on the ground. Leaving the disoriented dragon on the ground, Midna glided over and embraced her closest friend, who was only too happy to return the gesture.

"I'll say one thing, Midna." Link chuckled. "You sure know how to put on a show."

"Well, I do my best." Midna smirked, playfully twirling her hair.

"That was ripper, mate!" Marine shouted excitedly, running up to the imp. "Think ya can do it again, mate!"

"Who's the short stack?" Midna smiled proudly.

"I'm Capt. Marine the Raccoon!" Marine proclaimed with prodigious vigor. "And these blokes behind me are my best mate!"

"Blokes…?" Midna repeated with a raised brow, looking to the Sonic Team. "Hey, if it isn't Silver, Storm, and Angel! And if you guys are here." Without much warning, Midna once again displayed her usual powers to extend her hair and swipe the majority of the Sonic Team to the side, leaving their leader completely exposed. Before he even had much of a chance to run, the cobalt hedgehog was captured by the Twilight Princess and dragged over. "Hello, sweetness. How come you never call lil' old Midna. I would have made room for some cozy time."

"Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick." Sonic groaned; his face looked slightly green.

"**I don't think you would have had the time anyway.**" Dark Sonic complied. "**Especially with all the time you're spending with Blaze.**"

"_Are you ever going to let that go?_" Sonic glared inwardly.

"**Are you ever going to tell Silver.**" Dark Sonic retorted; Sonic was awfully silent. "**Yeah, didn't think so.**"

"Um…hello, Midna." The twilight Princess dropped her prey, glaring at the former Usurper that was approaching him. "It's been a while, hasn't it, my princess."

"No long enough." Midna said in a cold manner, turning her back to her former lover. "And don't call your princess. That manner of speaking is only reserved for those who are loyal to the Twili."

"Midna, I don't expect you to believe me." Zant continued uncertainly. "But I was possessed by Ganondorf when I betrayed you. I would say that it wasn't my fault, but I can't deny that I was upset that they overlooked me to becoming the next ruler of the Twili. Please, I never wanted to hurt you, my love."

"You're right about one thing." Midna said, turning to him with a glare. "I don't believe you."

Ok, this was turning out to be the exact opposite of what Zant was hoping for. Much like Zelda, she had a hard and cynical outlook on the nature of others and wasn't too quick to trust them. Zant sighed heavily in disappointment, which Silver resolved himself to patting the former usurper's back in reassurance. However, there was one thing the conjoined heroes had overlooked.

"Oh, you think you're so funny, don't you?" Drago sneered dizzily, stumbling back to his feet. "Well I'll show you! No one makes a fool out of the son of Shen…" A sudden clank below attracted his attention and looked down. A sky-blue bottle rolled into view and magically stopped at his feet; he knew what was coming next. "Crap…"

All of a sudden, the bright bottle cracked and exploded with a powerful tornado following the rupture. Because he was standing directly over the container, Drago was caught by the fierce winds and thrown over the borders of the Castle Town walls and disappeared somewhere over the distant Lake Hylia. He wasn't coming back any time soon. But knowing from experience, the Sonic Team waited out the weather with weapons raised defensively as the gale slowly died down. Though Drago was miles away by this point, a new character was found standing in his place at the moment the wind was brushed away. The new character seemed relatively Hylian with the exception of his dull-white skin with bright-silver hair that fell over the right side of his face and a single red eye that glared at the group. His attire consisted of a rich-purple tunic with a matching cap and cape, a golden belt with a ruby eye in the center, vermillion pants and sandals, and a single brilliant-red opal on the crown of his cap. Just something about his appearance reminded Sonic of the vampires he had seen in Black Doom's library. Of course, the cobalt hedgehog had already made an encounter with this man in a previous time.

"Hello, Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Hey, you're that guy from last time." Sonic blinked strangely, lowering his Keyblade. "Now what was your name again."

"Sonic, do you know this monstrosity?" Link said defensively.

"I met him the first time we showed up here." Sonic answered, taken back by his expression. "Though the other guys said they didn't see anything. Why? Is there something wrong with him?"

"That's Vaati, Ganondorf's right hand." Link responded, holding the Master Sword again his new adversary. "He's a corrupted Minish that tried to take over Hyrule by turning it into a dark version of itself and turning Zelda to stone. I thought I got rid of him after his last defeat, but Ganondorf had other ideas."

"My master saved me from the void of death in return for my loyalty." Vaati explained coldly. "And now I shall return the favor. Once I break the seal of the Triforce of Power, my master will be resurrected and take his place as the rightful ruler of Hyrule and the world." He dropped his glare and settled it between two of his most hated enemies. "But first thing's first…"

The malevolent Minish slowly raised his hand, showing his open palm to the defiant warriors. The next thing they knew, a powerful wall of wind crushed against the Sonic Team, causing most of them to tumble backwards back into the town square. The only exceptions were Link, who was kneeling with his shield in front, Sonic, who stabbed his Keyblade to the ground, and Midna, who was flying against the wind. And just as sudden as it began, it stopped. Vaati was clearly making an effort to keep the two swordsmen in his sight – a fact that was enforced when a barrier of light cut them off from the others.

"I don't think he's happy." Sonic commented.

"What was your first clue?" Link responded sarcastically.

"It was by your hands that my master perished." Vaati glared darkly. "So it will be by my hands that you shall receive the same fate."

"Over my dead body!" Midna ranted, floating in front. "If you want to get to my best friend and boyfriend…" Sonic covered his mouth to stop himself from vomiting. "You'll have to go through me!"

"That can be arranged." Vaati said collectively

The one-eyed sorcerer raised his hands to the sky in a flourishing motion, summoning a sphere of darkness to engulf him completely. Sonic and Link patiently waited for Vaati to show himself, knowing that running into a mass of darkness was never a good idea, while Midna floated overhead with a bored expression. When the shadow's finally settled, Sonic was the only one that seemed slightly disturbed by the new Vaati. His human form had been extinguished entirely and was replaced by a pitch-black eye with a red iris and golden outline with a curved horn on top. Rows of dark spheres floated on either side of the optical demon with tri-pronged golden claws connected to the ends. The demonic Vaati hissed in a challenging manner to which Link braced himself and Midna giggled in a playful manner. But deep within the reaches of the cobalt hedgehog's mind, Dark Sonic was the only one to verbally express what he was thinking.

"**Why can't they ever be small?**" Dark Sonic sighed.

* * *

**Corrupted Minish: Vaati**

"Ooh, he's a big one, isn't he?" Midna giggled. "So, which of you big, strong men want to take him first?"

"Vaati's obvious weakness is his central eye." Link informed, stepping lightly to the right. "But the main problem is getting to it because his arms are fast and barricade his weakness when close enough. If we want a chance of getting to him, one of us needs to provide the distraction."

"And let me guess." Sonic said blankly, looking at the two. "You want me to be the decoy."

"Pretty much." Link and Midna answered simultaneously.

You would think being the main character of the story would earn him a little more credit. Overlooking the point, Sonic gripped the handle of the Kiryu to activate its Keychain Ability, coating his body in a thick layer of jade-green dragon scales. If he was going to go up against a giant eyeball, it was better to be protected. The Keyblade Master dragged his sacred weapon across the ground, scattering sparks in the air, when making a daring charge for the single-eyed demon. Link had been wrong about one thing: Vaati's arms weren't fast…they were super fast. The dragon-scaled hedgehog could barely blink before the Corrupted Minish's left claw swiped across the air and slashed across his chest. If it wasn't for the fast that he was protected by his Keychain Ability, the preemptive strike would have killed Sonic in one stroke. The Keyblade Master tumbled backwards, still keeping a firm grip on the Kiryu against Vaati's wishes, and skidded to a halt on his stomach. Lifting his head off the ground, the dragon-scaled hedgehog shook his head in an attempt to clear his vision of the multi-colored spots floating around. But in the meantime, the Corrupted Minish had buried its right claw into the ground earlier in the fight and suddenly emerged beneath the Keyblade Master before he could react. Sonic was caught off-guard by the careful stealth attack and finally released the Keyblade from his hold, returning to his royal-blue fur. Vaati was going to have his vengeance now. The single-eyed demon closed his powerful claw despite Sonic's best efforts to open the golden talons – the difference in strength was too great. The Keyblade Master's face was starting to turn purple from the lack of oxygen when…

"Hey, ugly!" Midna screamed shrilly; Vaati staggered backwards as the Twilight Princess appeared directly in front. "No one chokeholds my man except me, you got it!"

"**Is that supposed to make us feel better?**" Dark Sonic questioned strangely.

"_Who care…_" Sonic thought passively. "_Can't…breathe…_"

"Your gonna put him down or am I gonna have to get rough?" Midna said in a final tone with her hands on her hips.

The Corrupt Minish measured the size of the Twilight Princess against himself…and flicked her away needlessly. The biggest mistake on his part. The single-eyed demon resumed his torture of the Keyblade Master when he was interrupted by an enlarged hand comprised of bright-orange/black energy. The ocular demon followed the trail of the particular anomaly and found its origin leading to Midna's hairline. The Twilight Princess looked extremely pissed off, which was reassured as her entangled hair crushed the spheres on Vaati's arm that connected to the main portion of the body. While the dark orbs evaporated into nothingness, Sonic dropped for a short moment before being secured into the air once more. Midna had used her hair to safely settle the cobalt hedgehog to the ground, generously passing off the Keyblade to its owner as well.

"Thanks for the save, Midna." Sonic smiled with his signature thumbs-up. "I really appreciate it."

"I know a better way for you to thank me." Midna grinned flirtatiously as she nudged against his shoulder; it took all of Sonic's willpower not to run away. "I know this perfect little spot around Lake Hylia where you can see the water glisten against the light of a full moon. Maybe we could spend a little time to…catch up."

"**I suddenly feel much safer with Vaati.**" Dark Sonic shuddered.

"_For once, we are in total agreement._" Sonic responded.

But unbeknownst to the uh…lovely couple, Vaati's remaining arm snaked behind them with the points of his claws aimed precariously to their spines. One sharp thrust and they would both be gone. Fortunately, it didn't need to come to that. Because like most villains, they have a tendency to forget other fighters in the middle of a battle. With a flash of silver, Link finally returned from his absence and brought down the Master Sword to slash through the central orb of Vaati's limb. The Corrupted Minish shrieked with such a pitch that shattered all the glass in Castle Town – the pain from the Master Sword was far worse than any other. But then again, it wasn't called the Blade of Evil's Bane for nothing. Sonic and Midna, covering their ears to block out the screams, finally returned their attention to the battle as Link brandished the Master Sword against his adversary.

"You really should watch yourself." Link advised cautiously. "Turning your back on an opponent will only get you killed faster."

"You think I would have learned that by now." Sonic laughed nervously, scratching his quills.

"**You would think you would have learned something by now.**" Dark Sonic insulted.

"_Hey, that's a low blow._" Sonic sulked.

"**Like stealing your friend's girl.**" Dark Sonic retorted; Sonic slapped his forehead and moaned. "**The sooner you tell him, the sooner I can move on to a new subject. I've got this one I picked up from that Deadpool guy we met in Hallow Bastion.**"

"_Can't wait._" Sonic muttered sarcastically.

"Ha-ha! You've got no arms!" Midna taunted in a singsong tone. "Whaddya gonna do now, tough guy? Blink us to death?"

"Uh…Midna." Link spoke hesitantly, pointing to the demon with his sword.

The Twilight Princess, who was sticking her tongue out at the Corrupted Minish, suddenly lost her swagger as four miniature eyeballs formed in a vortex of darkness. Vaati silently commanded the eyes to shift their gaze on the heroes – the floating optics began to glow brilliant-red. Sonic and Link looked at each other for a short moment, sharing the same idea, and dived away to opposite directions, leaving Midna stupefied in the middle. The Twilight Princess basically ran out of luck as the floating eyes released four simultaneous beams of light that struck Midna in the chest and sent her flying across the courtyard, smacking her face against the wall.

"**Score one for the giant eyeball.**" Dark Sonic laughed.

"_Midna's our friend._" Sonic scolded.

"**You want to go on a date with her?**" Dark Sonic questioned slyly.

"_Way to go, giant eyeball!_" Sonic cheered randomly.

"Sonic, watch your tails!" Link warned harshly.

The cobalt hedgehog snapped his attention back to reality just in time to sidestep of the eye beams that was directed to his right leg. With Midna no longer a factor in his mind, Vaati set his four miniature minions on the remaining two contenders. Much like the Corrupted Minish's arms, this little suckers were unbelievably fast – they were like tiny, black blurs. Sonic was able to follow most of their movements due to his natural adaptation to battle, but counterattacking was his main concern. The cobalt hedgehog used every available opportunity to swing the Kiryu for the floating pests, but the Keyblade was too slow in comparison to the moving targets. In the end, Sonic was forced to go on the defensive and activate his Keychain Ability to protect himself in dragon scales, which were successfully reflecting the endless bombardment of lasers. If it was even possible, Link was having a worse time than Sonic. The green-clothed swordsman wasn't even given the chance to strike back against the drifting optics as they released a similar barrage on the noble hero. Link, using his shield to stave off the onslaught, stumbled nimbly until he was back-to-back with the Keyblade Master, who had crossed his arms to deflect more of the crimson beams.

"Ever been in a situation like this before?" Sonic asked, grunted from the impact of the beams.

"Six times." Link answered, kneeling to cover his shins. "Unfortunately, I left my boomerang back home and I don't exactly have an endless supply of arrows on me at the moment."

"Well, that perfect." Sonic remarked sarcastically. "Now what are we supposed to do?"

"I might have an idea." Both warriors were startled as Midna's head emerged from the shadow shared between them. "These little bugs are too fast and too small for mere mortals to attack in your present state. But what if you became faster?"

"What are you getting at?" Link questioned seriously.

The Twilight Princess giggled in a devilish manner as she jumped fully from the shadows, ignoring the crimson rays flashing just inches above her hand. Midna turned to her green-clothed friend and waved her hand with a flourish, presenting him with a familiar gift: an orange/black crystal. Sonic had only seen the mystical item on one occasion in the past, but couldn't fully remember what the effects were. Link, on the other hand, wasn't as forgetful and grinned pleasingly to the Twilight Princess. So after hastily dropping his shield and the Master Sword, the Hero of Twilight grasped the Shadow Crystal with both hands and groaned painfully as the effects took place. Even Vaati had momentarily forgotten to continue spreading commands to his minions as watched the Wielder of Courage's transformation. Link had shed his humanity in favor of an evergreen wolf with glimmering-silver teeth, a main of shaggy hair, and the Twili tattoo printed in white on his forehead. Wolf Link snarled menacingly, which earned a laugh from the Twilight Princess, who was sitting on his back.

"Oh man, I think I missed this part the most." Midna giggled sinisterly, patting the wolf's mane. "If you be a good boy, I'll give you a bone." Wolf Link snapped his jaws, causing Midna to fall back slightly. "Bad wolfy! Bad! No treat for you!"

"_Is this supposed to be a normal thing?_" Sonic thought awkwardly.

"**When has anything ever been normal?**" Dark Sonic replied.

"_Good point._" Sonic shrugged.

The Keyblade Master backtracked away from the prowling wolf as it paced back and forth in front of him – his teeth bared to Vaati and his minions. The Corrupted Minish grew bored of this game. Sending a command to his minions, the floating eyes regained their glow in preparation for the attack. An attack that would never come. Before Vaati's minions could finish, Wolf Link jumped back and forth across the air, leaving nothing behind but a blur of dark-green. Sonic could only compare the beast's speed to that of the Kingdom Key, but which much greater accuracy and lethal force. The Twili hound slashed the first three optics with his claws and crushed the last minion with his powerful jaws, stopping in front of Vaati to display his power. The enlarged eyeball looked between the remains of its servant, the snarling monster crouching four feet away, and the Keyblade Master as he nonchalantly approached.

"Looks like you're all out of tricks, Vaati." Sonic stated smugly. "If you leave now, we promise not to kill you."

The Corrupted Minish was left with the choice. He had no weapons left and was standing up against the Twilight Princess, the Hero of Hyrule, and the Keyblade Master. There was no choice. The single-eyed demon closed its vision and dissolved its form into a sphere of pure darkness, leaving behind only the physical form of Vaati. The silver-haired Minish was on his hand and knees, panting heavily, but still mustered the strength to glare at the trio.

"This isn't over, Keyblade Master." Vaati swore.

And with that, Vaati ripped his way through the Corridors of Darkness and made his escape.

* * *

**Vaati: Defeated**

It was twenty minutes following the match with the Corrupted Minish when the Sonic Team recollected in from the Royal Palace gates. Link, much to Midna's disappointment, had returned to his Hylian form and replaced the Master Sword back into his scabbard proudly. Now that they had the Triforce of Power, there was no need to hand over such a powerful relic to the greedy Happy Mask Salesman. At the moment, Link and his friends stood before Princess Zelda and Midna in front of the palace gates with Zant shifting nervously at their side.

"Just give him a chance." Link pleaded, gently grasping Zelda's hand. "Zant said he was sorry and he has been working hard to make up for all his mistakes. If it wasn't for him, we probably would have never made it back from the forest."

"I don't know…" Zelda hummed uncertainly, withdrawing her hand. "There is a lot against him."

"I just say we throw him out for good." Midna pronounced disdainfully.

"Aw, that's no fair!" Marine complained, waving her fist. "Give the bloke a chance already!"

"He has done a lot of good lately." Silver nodded in agreement. "There could be a chance he's really telling the truth and wants to turn over a new leaf. After all, he risked his life to get the Triforce back."

"Probably to steal it." Midna murmured.

"Well, Zant has shown that he means well." Zelda said sagely, taking a moment to think. "All right, I'll give him one chance to show us that he really wants to help. And furthermore…" She snapped her focus to Link. "I'm placing you in charge of him. If he step one toe out of line, he will be banished and you will be demoted to stable boy!"

"What?" Link exclaimed horrified.

"You heard me!" Zelda said sternly with his hands on her hips; Link moaned in defeat.

"_Wow, he is whipped._" Sonic laughed inwardly.

"As for you…" Midna said pleasantly, popping in front of the hedgehog. "I have a little parting gift for you." The Twilight Princess waved her hand in an exaggerated motion, creating a silver locket with the print of the Fused Shadows on the surface. "This is a little summoning trinket like the last one I gave you. If you ever need any help…or just want to spend some quality time, just give me a call."

"Yeah…I'll do that." Sonic said slowly.

"**You're going to lose that as fast as you lost Aang's, aren't you?**" Dark Sonic snickered.

"_If not sooner._" Sonic replied quickly.

And that left one matter to be resolved: the Triforce of Power. Silver, who had still managed to hold on to the hold triangle this whole time, stepped respectfully to the Hyrulian princess and dropped the Triforce into her open palm. But just as the necklace was halfway transferred to the Possessor of Wisdom, it stopped in midair with a familiar glow surrounding it – Sonic knew what came next. Holding his Keyblade in front of him, Sonic's mind wandered into another dimension, where only the Triforce of Power's light shined. The golden triangle emitted a beam of light into the sky and formed into the shape of a keyhole. Sonic stabbed his chosen weapon forward and unleashed the Keyblade power to strike at the Keyhole, unlocking the next gateway. The Keyblade Master's mind was sharply thrusted back into reality.

"Sonic…" Zant said slowly. "What was that?"

"It means it's time for us to get moving." Sonic proclaimed.

"Will you be back?" Zelda asked hopefully.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head." Angel smiled, sitting on Storm' shoulder. "If the Heartless are still around, we won't be too far behind."

"You know, we should get paid for this kind of stuff." Storm commented.

After taking a moment to think about it, Storm had a point. When were they gonna get their rewards? Knowing how long it took them to complete their last adventure, Sonic had a feeling it wouldn't be for a long time. But as the cobalt hedgehog stared into the crystal-clear sky, he knew that – in the end – it would all be worth it.

* * *

**Another quest ends to begin anew. Will Vaati return to seek his revenge? How will Black Doom handle Drago's latest failure? And what is happening in the worlds away from the Sonic Team? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

There will be no poll this time, but I've got a special surprise for everyone: a three-part arc featuring Amy and her own journey to other worlds. Be sure to read it next chapter.


	39. Amy's Amazing Adventure, Part 1

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Amy's Amazing Adventure, Part 1

A world that exists between the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness, but did not truly exist. An empty planet that was formed from an endless city of skyscrapers with and an untouchable shadow that fell over the streets and alleys. Only two things stood out in this…cold forgotten world. A castle of pure-white floated ominously over the skyline – composed of multiple turrets all bearing the same symbol: An upturned heart with a spiked cross. And above that was a luminous-yellow moon oddly shaped in the fashion of a heart. The Order was growing closer to completing their goal. But far beyond the Castle That Never Was, one lost shape drifted tentatively through the alleyways of the Dark City.

A Chao much like the one seen in Chao Garden flapped its butterfly-like wings cautiously, looking left and right as he floated deeper into the city streets. He had a sky-blue skin pigment with yellow accents on the tip of his head, stubby feet, and arms, and a yellow ball floating in place over his head. The one thing that made this Chao more distinguishable than most was the red bow tie strung around his neck – a sign of ownership. It was unknown how or when, but Cheese the Chao – King Jet's loyal pet – had stumbled into the home world of the Order. Now the only problem was getting out. Cheese had been flying through the Dark City for nearly an hour – dodging savage heartless in the process – and was become exhausted from the adventure. Finally giving into fatigue, Cheese dropped to the ground and leaned his head back against the concrete wall of the skyscraper behind him. The lost little Chao seemed ready to drop into the world of dreams when…

"This better be worth it."

Cheese snapped his head up. Looking towards the end of the alleyway, the royal pet spotted a man wearing a Black Cloak walked into a deserted road. It was Terro the Bat – Cheese recognized him when he accidentally wandered into Castle Oblivion following Duskmon's imprisonment. He was a member of the Seeker, Cheese remembered. All sense of tiredness was brushed away and the excitable Chao jumped back into the air, flying after the Deceptive Rogue. Cheese turned around the corner, finding Terro as he opened a path to the Corridors of Darkness.

"Next stop, Destiny Islands." Terro said to himself.

The traitor of both the Seekers and the Order stepped lightly into the void of darkness, never taking notice of the fairy-like creature behind him. Cheese panicked. The royal Chao chirped and chased after the crimson bat, but the void of darkness vanished before he could make it through. Cheese hanged his head in sadness – he was stuck once again. Or was he? The royal pet perked his head up following a sharp whistle echoing in the background and looked back. The Corridors of Darkness had opened once more, but the summoner was nowhere to be seen. Cheese didn't care, though. The fairy-like creature glided into the void of darkness without a second thought as the pathway closed behind him. Any place was better than here.

* * *

Listening to the gentle lapping of the waves, breathing in the salty air of the sea, Amy couldn't understand why everything felt so out of place. That was a lie – she knew what was missing. With the memories of Sonic slowly returning, the Princess of Hollow Bastion felt lonelier then before she remembered him. The pink hedgehog returned to the shores of the mainland, gazing out to the secondary island where the memories of the three of them were most abundant. Even after Amy began to remember them, she had not set foot on the island – it just didn't feel right without Sonic or Espio with her. She knew that both of them had their duties as Keyblade Masters to defend the worlds from threats like the Heartless, but that didn't ease the pain in her own heart. It's been a year now….

"Maybe…" Amy murmured to herself. "Waiting isn't good enough."

"My thoughts exactly!" Amy jumped at the flamboyant voice. "If you have a dream, don't wait – act! One of life's little lessons!" The Princess of Heart staggered backwards as the Corridors of Darkness opened to her right, leaving Terro in its place. "Commit it to memory!" He took a moment, waiting for some kind of response; none came. "Hah! Take that, Axel!"

"Excuse me?" Amy asked strangely.

"It's a long story." Terro chuckled, rubbing his neck anxiously.

"Who are you?" Amy questioned distrustfully.

"The name's Terro – commit it to memory." Terro said smugly. "You're Amy, right? Espio liked to talk about you."

"You know Espio?" Amy asked hopefully.

"Him and Sonic – we're all friends here." Terro proclaimed, spreading his arms in emphasis. "In fact, I thought it would be a good idea if we both went to see them." He held a hand out, waiting for Amy to take it. "We both have friends that we both miss, Amy. Let's go look for them together."

Having a rather sensible mind, the pink hedgehog wasn't prepared to accept a man dressed in black and walks through vortexes of darkness right away. Being a Princess of Heart, Amy was gifted with the power to read the hearts of people – an ability she discovered four months after Sonic and Espio disappeared. She staggered in one place for a short while, gazing deeply into the crimson bat's smooth-violet eyes. A cold shiver ran down her spine – she couldn't feel his hearts. Things were not going as Terro had hoped when he noticed Amy taking a tentative step backwards. The Deceptive Rogue was ready to lunge after her when both parties were distracted by a frantic chirp closing in on them. By the time Amy looked over, Cheese had catapulted into her open arms and clinging to bosom with a frightened expression. It wasn't until four small vortex of darkness opened around them that the Princess of Heart understood why he was so scared. Silver-skinned creatures that vaguely resembled the Dusks with the exception of the large number of zippers stretched across their bodies.

"Arcanum?" Terro said, seemingly surprised. "What's going on? You guys work for me?"

"They work for you?" Amy exclaimed.

"Ooh, that was the wrong thing to say." Terro groaned inwardly.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you." Amy leered, stepping back with Cheese in her arms. "You're just trying to lure me away so you can capture Sonic and Espio."

"No, I swear that's not what's happening!" Terro shouted urgently. "This is just one of those wacky misunderstanding that we're all going to laugh about later." He chuckled nervously; Amy stared blankly. "Ok, maybe not."

The surrounding Nobodies – identified as Arcanum – stepped forward for the princess in a manner that seemed reminiscent to horror movie icons. The pink hedgehog trudged backwards instinctively as the Arcanum formed a wall between her and Terro, who was rolling up his sleeves to reveal his wrist blades. All of a sudden, the tense atmosphere was punctured by a sharp whistled that caused Amy to look back, seeing a pathway to the Corridors of Darkness open directly behind her. Given past experiences, Amy wasn't stupid enough to walk aimlessly into the darkness. But with the alternate meaning she would have to stand against Terro and his soldiers, she wasn't left with much of a choice. With the Arcanum steadily approaching, Amy turned on her heels and rushed into the darkness without a second thought. The Arcanum watched and waited as the dark vortex disappeared from the realm of existence – Terro scratched his head and sighed.

"Kumori was right." Terro said to himself. "I really need to work on my first impressions."

* * *

The scene alternates to a world unlike anything Amy had seen before – it couldn't even be classified as a world. It was more like a tunnel comprised of a spectrum of dark colors ranging from navy-blue to crimson-red. There was no visible land mass within miles, but the pink hedgehog could definitely feel something solid beneath her feet. But one of the more interesting features of the corridor was the thousands of portal leading to places beyond the shores of Destiny Island. Looking through the closest one, Amy saw a man in a black suit with a red bat on his chest fighting an ink-like creature. Cheese stared through the following one where a Hispanic teen transformed his right hand into a giant sword. And in the next one, Amy watched a girl in black/red spandex swing across the city with webs coming from her wrists. This was the Corridors of Darkness: unlimited access to all worlds.

"Look at this place." Amy murmured impressively. "Where do we go from here?"

"You are not going anywhere." The pink hedgehog gasped and turned, only to be lifted off the ground by her worst fear: Mephiles. "Hello, Amelia."

"Daddy?" Amy said meekly. "But I thought Sonic and the others got rid of you."

"You would have liked that, wouldn't you?" Mephiles spoke in a menacing tone, bringing his daughter closer. "But that was only a temporary set back. My being has been restored and I am ready to continue where I left off. And that means I will require your services once more."

"No, I won't help you!" Amy shrieked, kicking her feet restlessly. "Sonic'll stop you like he always does!"

"The Keyblade Master is in no position for a rescue." Mephiles proclaimed confidently. "Now be a good little girl and just – AUGH!"

Without warning, Mephiles released his grip and the Princess of Hollow Bastion fell on her behind – Amy winced and whined for a moment. Cheese chirped questionably at the hedgehog's shoulder, but she ignored him and looked up. The source of her rescue came from a crouching character concealed in a Black Cloak that had jumped out of nowhere and drilled its fist into the side of Mephiles' face. Though she was unable to discern the identity of her savior, Amy did notice that she had blood-red claws opening and closing into a fist anxiously. A couple of feet away, Mephiles was on all-fours and seemed a little disoriented – this was their chance.

"There's no time to explain, Amy." The cloaked figure said; the voice was feminine with a growl mixed. "You need to escape the Corridors of Darkness before it corrupts your heart."

"Where should I go?" Amy asked.

"Any one of them will do!" The female snapped hurriedly; Mephiles was regaining his senses. "Just leave before it's too late!"

"How do I know that I can trust you?" Amy glared, not liking that a complete stranger was giving her orders.

"I don't expect you to trust me." The woman spoke in a soft growl. "But no matter what you think, I will never let any harm come to my baby."

Amy could feel a cold chill running down her spine at the same moment she felt a sharp twinge in her heart. As Mephiles finally clambered to his feet, shaking his head free from the dizziness, the cloaked woman stood like a barrier between him and the princess. And despite the warnings, Amy refused to move, even with Cheese tugging at the back of her shirt. The pink hedgehog slowly reached her hand out, wanting – yearning – more than anything to touch this unknown protector's claw. She probably felt the princess's actions and dashed ahead to Mephiles without looking back. She didn't deserve the touch of someone so pure. As the cloaked woman charged at him, Mephiles threw out his hands to grapple his new adversary by the shoulders and throw her to the ground. However, the cloaked woman snatched his wrist and pulled the Seeker of Darkness down with him. Amy remained like a statue as her father nailed a powerful strike to the cloaked woman's unseen face and grasped her by the ankles to thrown her haphazardly across the corridor. Believing his enemy to be defeated, Mephiles set his sights back to his daughter. It was time to leave. The Princess of Heart snapped back to reality and turned on her heels, snatching Cheese out of the air as they made a run for it. Mephiles' first instinct was to chase after them until her was unexpectedly tackled from behind by the cloaked woman. Amy had no idea where she was supposed to go and just chose the first portal that was closest to her. But as the princess and royal pet passed through the gateway, Amy gave one last glance back to the unknown woman that had protected her.

"Mama?" Amy murmured.

They were gone.

* * *

The scenery alternates to a desolate wasteland of rock and debris. The surrounding area seems to have been once part of a great city before an unknown catalyst signaled it untimely destruction. Once smooth roads were jagged and fractured, tall structures were reduced to rubble, cables were ripped through the metallic walls, and in the distance, a once impressive stadium was transformed into a jungle of pipes and rubble. It was like a war zone – only worse. This is the scene that awaited Amy Rose as she fell through the Corridors of Darkness into the hellish world. The Princess of Heart, having lack of experience with dark travels, tripped on the nearest piece of rubble the moment she set foot on the world. The pink hedgehog tumbled forward and rolled downwards through a large pile of rock and discarded metal, finally landing face first into the cracked street below. This just wasn't her day. Cheese chirped with concern and he floated down to meet the princess, who was sitting up and soothing the bump on her forehead. It took all of Amy's strength not to whine like a little girl – the boys wouldn't let her live it down if they ever knew. But pain aside, the pink hedgehog lifted her gaze and took a wide look at the surrounding environment.

"I don't think we're in Destiny Islands anymore." Amy said cautiously.

* * *

(:) – – (:) **Haven City **(:) – – (:)

Amy kept Cheese close to herself as she stepped lightly over the jagged terrain, possibly wondering what could have caused such destruction on a large scale. She could tell that these ruins were only recent because some fires had not been extinguished and several smokestacks could be seen puffing up from the distant stadium. Something big happened in a short period of time – the Heartless couldn't have moved this fast. The prospect of facing a new variant monster didn't suit well with the pink hedgehog as she continued to move deeper into the ruins. Every now and then, the Princess of Hollow Bastion would come across piles of animal bones littered on the ground or – worse yet – human skeletons buried under piles of concrete. She was either very brave or very stupider – Amy thought it was the latter.

"What happened here?" Amy murmured, walking around an overturned car. "It looks like a tornado ran across here with a tsunami after it, then an earthquake, and then a volcano going off to finish the job."

"Chao, chao." Cheese nodded.

"What do you think happened here?" Amy asked, looking down at the fairy-creature.

"Chao…" Cheese said slowly; he suddenly became bug-eyed and started flailing frantically. "Chao, chao, chao, chao!"

"What is it?" Amy gasped worriedly.

Unfortunately, there was still a barrier in communication and the royal pet was only capable of point his stubby hand over the princess's shoulder. Amy raised a brow in confusion, not really understanding the message, until she felt a warm cloud of air breathing down her neck. If the princess had learned anything from watching horror movies, this was usually the part where the monster revealed itself to its first victim. The pink hedgehog, holding Cheese for support, turned around slowly and cautiously as possible until she was staring directly into the face of the beast. The bad news: it wasn't a Heartless. The creature had a gorilla-like structure with gravel-blue skin and four piercing-yellow eyes – two on each side of its face. The beast wore protective golden armor that included bracers for its forearms and ankles, pointed shoulder pads, golden plates around its spinal cord, a scorpion-like tail, and a helmet with a glowing gem on its forehead. The beast snarled dangerously from its throat while moving forward on its knuckles, causing Amy to step backwards instinctively.

"Um…hello." Amy said nervously, taking another step back. "Lovely uh…place you got here. Well, we kinda got lost on the way to the beach so if you don't, we'll just…" The metallic beast snarled hungrily. "Ok, I guess you do mind. But we're really sorry for barging in like…"

The Princess of Heart suddenly stopped in her tracks when she backed up into something hard…and breathing. Amy once again resisted the urge to whine as she craned her head back, finding two more of the metal-armored beasts effortlessly towering over her. One of the beasts tried to take a swipe for the princess, but Amy carefully ducked out of the way and rolled a short distance away. The three metallic monsters gathered together and marched for their newest prey, forcing the pink hedgehog to instinctively back away. Unfortunately, there wasn't much place to go when the Princess of Heart felt her back touch with a wall of debris, cutting her off from any chances of escaping.

"Chao, chao." Cheese chirped scared.

"Looks like running is out of the question." Amy stated thoughtfully. "Now would be a good time for Sonic and Espio to show up and save the day, but I can't really get my hopes up." Out of the corner of her eyes, Amy saw a metal pipe that was still in perfect condition sticking out of the dirt to her right. Without much thought, she grabbed the pipe with both hands and pulled it sharply upwards. "Well, it's better to go down fight, right? I'm not gonna be the damsel in distress anymore!"

"Chao, chao!" Cheese cheered…from ten feet away.

"Oh, thanks for the support." Amy said sarcastically.

A guttural growl could be heard from the leader monster's throat – its version of a mocking laugh. The leader nudged one of the subordinates and the beast lunged ahead with its claws outwards and its jaws open for the kill. With the fact that this was the first fight Amy has ever been in, the pink hedgehog closed her eyes tightly and swung the pipe across the air. The sound of metal connecting with metal echoed in the ruins and Amy felt the vibrations of the pipe run down the length of her arm. The Princess of Hollow Bastion was awakened by curiosity and looked down, finding the metallic beast unconscious at her feet. It was a lucky shot. The leading beast seemed to think so and ushered the second subordinate to attack. The metal-armored creature charged forward with a distinctive growl while Amy – her confidence starting to grow – pulled back the pipe over her shoulder. Once the beast was close enough, the pink hedgehog swiped the metal pipe across the beast's face and forced it to stagger temporarily. With her opponent disoriented, Amy raised the pipeline and brought it down over the metallic beast's helmet, forcing it to the ground. The Princess of Heart was feeling very proud of herself after managing to take out two enemies with Sonic or Espio to protect her. But that still left the last one. The leading monster dragged its knuckles across the rough terrain, walking in a full circle around the pink hedgehog with Amy following his every move. It seemed to be looking for something – planning for something. After walking twice around the princess, the metal-armored beast stopped and crouched low to the ground, enabling him to pounce faster onto his prey. However, Amy grew up watching the boys fight on a daily basis and this tactic was similar to the one Espio would use whenever he was knocked down. The pink hedgehog swiftly lifted her foot and thrusted her heel into the chest of the incoming beast, causing it to lose its balance. And just before the metal-armored monstrosity could touch the ground, Amy swiped the pipe to its chin for a strong uppercut. The metallic beast tumbled away pathetically – it didn't get up.

"That was an experience." Amy said, discarding the pipe weapon. "I really deserve my own Keyblade."

"Chao, chao, chao." Cheese nodded happily at her shoulder.

"And where have you been?" Amy narrowed her eyes with her hands on her hips. "You know, you could have helped out a little. The least you could have done was distract them a little while I took care of them."

"Chao, chao…" Cheese chirped sadly.

"Aw, I can't stay mad at you." Amy said sympathetically, cradling the Chao in her arms. "That was pretty scary. I wouldn't have expected anything more from you."

Being a Princess of Heart, it was easy for her to forgive…sometimes. But just as they were getting ready to leave, Amy was suddenly thrown forward to the ground after something tackled her from behind. Amy – and a crushed Cheese – looked over her shoulder to find the three metal-armored beasts were back piled collectively on her back. They looked more angry than hungry at this point. She could feel the breath of one of the metallic beasts beating against the back of her neck, waiting for when the monstrosity would devour her. But the creature was somewhat distracted when a glowing-red dot appeared between its eyes, attracting the attention of its brethren as well. The metallic trio followed the angle of the dot, whimpering pathetically when finding the origin. Much to the princess's surprise, the metallic beasts jumped off the pink hedgehog and ran away with their tails literally between their legs. Amy sat up and scratched her head in confusion – Cheese mimicked her.

"Wow, they sure can run when they want to."

Amy gasped and turned her upper body in the directing of the sound. But thankfully enough, this newcomer wasn't as frightening as the last one. He appeared human with the exception of the long, pointed ears and had short yellow/green with a matching green goatee. His attire was particularly unusual considering their environment. The bulk of his wardrobe consisted of bright-orange armor: chest plates, shoulders pads, bracers, and greaves. The rest of his clothing was a pair of beige pants, dusty-brown boot, a blue undershirt, a metal ring with three straps on his chest, and pair of goggles strapped to his forehead. He was carrying a long rifle on his shoulder, but his smiling expression deterred Amy from any thoughts of this man being considered a threat. The armored savior kneeled down and politely offered a hand to the princess, which she gratefully accepted.

"Thanks for the help." Amy said appreciatively, dusting her cloths off. "I thought I had them, but I guess I have a lot to learn."

"I saw you from back there." The man said, gesturing with his head. "You have some moves, but walking into the middle of Metal Head territory is suicide unless you have a real weapon and proper training."

"Metal Head?" Amy repeated, blinking in confusion.

"Those ugly freakers you just saw." The man explained. "You're just lucky we were around at the time."

"We?" Amy asked; Cheese chirped simultaneously

"That's right, little lady!" The princess and royal pet jumped slightly as an orange weasel-like creature in goggle jumped on the armored man's shoulder. "You're safe in my paws, innocent bystander! For with the mighty Daxter on the job, no harm shall befall upon you! Oh, and Jak can help to."

"Thanks for the intro, Dax." Jak said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you." Amy said awkwardly, stepping timidly in place. "My name is Amy Rose."

"Amy Rose…" Jak murmured quietly, stroking his goatee in thought. "Hey, I've heard about you! You're one of those Princesses of Heart that Black Doom captured over a year ago!"

"How'd you know that?" Amy exclaimed shockingly. "I thought the existence of the other worlds were supposed to be a secret!"

"We have our sources, little lady." Daxter said smugly.

"Keira Hagai is a friend of ours." Jak explained; Daxter whined childishly. "She was one of the other Princesses of Heart that I'm sure you met before. After Mephiles was defeated and the worlds were restored, she explained everything to us and her father – Samos – on the condition that we wouldn't tell anyone else."

"Too bad we're depriving the world of how I save the heart kingdom." Jak said in a cocky manner.

"It's Kingdom Hearts." Amy said blandly; he was getting no respect from her. "And you weren't the one that saved the worlds; it was Sonic, Espio, and their friends."

"Just forget about it." Jak shook his head. "It useless trying to talk to him."

"I'll remember that." Amy said exasperatedly. "Since it's no secret that I'm not from around here, where is…'here'?"

"This is all that's left of the Haven City main district." Jak explained kindly; He started walking around with Amy and Cheese following close behind. "The Haven Palace fell when the Metal Heads and Krimson Guard attacked and took out all of downtown, most of the bazaar district, and the racing stadium. I always knew that bastard Praxis would come back to haunt us one day."

"Who's Praxis?" Amy asked cluelessly.

"Eh, wrong question to ask." Daxter said nervously.

"Baron Praxis was a heartless tyrant and a cold-blooded bastard." Jak hissed dangerously. It was probably her imagination, but Amy could have sworn she saw purple sparks flying across his palms. "He stole power from Damas during the Metal Head war and banished him to the wastelands outside the city. Praxis created the Krimson Guard patrol to fight back against the Metal Heads, but he was actually working with them. The Metal Heads would attack the city occasionally, making them forget his unjust laws, and Praxis would supply the Metal Heads with Eco." Amy and Cheese cocked their heads in confusion. "The lifeblood of the world."

"That's not even the worst he's done." Daxter added, punching his fists at an imaginary enemy. "Ooh, if I ever got my hands on him."

"What could be worse than making a deal with those monsters?" Amy questioned worriedly.

"He made me a monster." Jak said shortly. "He used me as a guinea pig for two years to experiment with Dark Eco. Well, he got what he wanted – the perfect weapon."

"Whatever happened to him?" Amy asked tentatively, hugging Cheese close.

"The bastard died." Jak said impassively. "My only regret was that I wasn't the one that killed him. After Praxis was killed and the Metal Head leader was destroyed, the Metal Heads and Krimson Guards went on a rampage and destroyed most of the city. After that, Veger – head of the council – blamed me for killing Praxis and banished me and Daxter to the wasteland. We would have died out there if Damas hadn't found us."

"Sounds like you respect this Damas guy." Amy noted.

"He's a little pigheaded." Jak smirked. "But he's a great man."

"Yeah, until he wants ta roast ya." Daxter said loathingly.

"It could be worse." Jak said jokingly. "I could have left you with Kleiver."

"Not, funny, Jak!" Daxter snapped anxiously. "Not funny."

Amy giggled silently in the background and couldn't help comparing the unusual duo with her own friends. Jak was like Espio – cool and levelheaded – while Daxter was more like Sonic – overeager and a bit of a showoff. They way they were laughing and joking with one another, it was plainly clear that they had been best friends for year. Though why someone like Jak would make friends with a talking weasel was beyond her. The pink hedgehog, aided by Cheese, followed Jak through the treacherous terrain of the Metal Head Territory, despite all logic telling her to run in the opposite direction. But Amy had an idea: if there was danger, Sonic and Espio wouldn't be too far behind. As they passed by the fallen plaza that Amy deduced to belong to the main district, the pink hedgehog look curious as they passed a large statue of a proud warrior that seemed perfectly untouched.

"Who's that?" Amy asked, referring to the statue.

"Him?" Jak said interestingly. "That's the statue of the great warrior, Mar. He was the founder of Haven City, the first one to influence the power of Eco, and the most hated enemy of the Metal Heads. They say that when he was alive, Mar was first one to come in contact with the Precursors. And incase you're wondering, the Precursors are the legendary makers of the worlds."

"Yet they could come up with a decent pair of pants to wear." Daxter complained.

"_That's can't be right._" Amy thought strongly. "_Metal and Silver always told me that it was the Higher Powers that created the worlds…or was it Kingdom Hearts that created them and the worlds. Or maybe – oh, my head hurts._" She was suddenly snapped out of her rant by a sharp clang coming from their left. "What was that?"

"I'll check it out." Jak said seriously, cocking his gun.

"You do that and I'll protect the little lady." Daxter said, cowering behind Amy's legs.

"My hero." Amy said sarcastically.

The armored gunman shook his head and sighed in exasperation – he sometimes wonder why they were best friends. Jak stepped cautiously to the origin of the noise – pile of three trashed cars – and stuck his weapon in first for precautionary reasons. When being received with no response, the armored warrior pushed his head through the open window for a better look of the interior – still nothing. He repeated the process with the other two vehicles and came up with nothing. Jak grunted as he dropped back onto the ground, turning to his friends with a nonchalant shrug.

"Must have been a stray crocadog." Jak suggested.

But as you may already know, things never turn out so simple. Without warning, the car pile was thrown away and a Metal Head grunt emerged from the sinkhole buried beneath them. The metallic beast managed to gain the element of surprise and swiped its claws at Jak's hands, flinging his weapon away from its owner. And before the armored warrior had a chance to fight back, the Metal Head grunt snared its claws around both of his wrists and tackled him to the ground. The metallic monster used its weight as an advantage to keep Jak pinned to the ground, which was really starting to make him angry. His anger seemed to be taking shape in his outward appearance mostly because his eyes had become charcoal-black. The Metal Head ignored effects and dropped its mandibles to clamp down on Jak's yellow/green head. Or at least it would have if a yellow bolt of energy hadn't flew overhead and speared the Metal Head through the gem on its forehead, effectively killing it. Jak blinked surprisingly – his transformation reversed. With a grunt of effort, the armored warrior pushed the corpse over and turned on his stomach, looking back to the rest of his friends. Daxter and Cheese were staring wide-eyed at Amy, who was holding Jak's rifle shakily. The armored warrior was surprised, but thankful as he pushed himself back to his feet and Daxter returned to his place on Jak's shoulder.

"Dude, that chick just shot you with her eyes closed!" Daxter exclaimed frantically; Jak blenched.

"Hey!" Jak shouted to Amy. "Did you just shoot me with your eyes closed?"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Amy laughed sheepishly.

"Give me that!" Jak grunted, snatching his weapon back. "Last time I let you hold my gun."

"You're welcome." Amy said blandly. "But shouldn't we be worried that thing was here? I get the feeling those Metal Heads don't travel alone very often."

"You're right about that." Jak nodded, holstering his weapon. "We better get out of here before more of those freakers…" He was interrupted by a soft growl echoing a few feet above them. Though against their better judgment, the group of four looked up to find a group of over fifty Metal Head grunts circling them from above. "Ah, slag it."

"Don't worry, I'll protect us!" Dexter yelled heroically. "Jak, why don't you take care of them while I warm up?"

Amy was starting to wonder how the rodent ever made it this far. The Metal Head swarm pounced forward and Jak unloaded his rifle with exceptional speed. The armored warrior was able to shoot down six of the grunts down before the miniature army could touch the ground. With them coming into closer range, the armored gunman unlatched the yellow cylinder on the side of the rifle and replaced it with a red disk, making the weapon more compact. The first shot was like an explosion as a red wave of wave of energy pushed through the barrel and knocked back eight Metal Heads simultaneously. Unfortunately, this version of Jak's weapon wasn't as powerful as the last enhancement as the grunts started working their way back to their feet. The armored warrior released two more shots before some progress was finally made – four Metal Heads died on impact. But with the overwhelming numbers and the low damage rate of Jak's gun, it was kinda obvious that they would be overrun within a matter of moments.

"Jak, big scary monsters closin' in!" Daxter screeched fretfully, tugging at Jak's collar. "Whaddya waitin' for? Peacemaker these suckers or at least use the Vulcan! Anything is better than the Scatter Gun!"

"I would, but someone used all the ammo for the Peacemaker to get good television reception." Jak glared; Daxter chuckled sheepishly. "And I let Torn borrow the Vulcan mod for a group of Krimson Guards in the north district. This is all we have left."

"We're gonna die!" Daxter cried. "I'll never wear pants again!"

"Jak, Daxter, watch out!" Amy warned.

Daxter managed to scurry away in time, but it was too late for Jak once over fifteen Metal Head grunts dog piled on the armored gunman – his weapon clattered as it was knocked away. The main threat neutralized, the remaining metal creatures turned their focus on Amy and the two smaller creatures hiding behind her. The Princess of Heart backed away from the approach while trying to look for a suitable weapon, but nothing in the area seemed to suit her needs. Amy picked up Daxter and Cheese, holding them protectively against her chest. Within four feet of their defenseless prey, the Metal Heads suddenly stopped by a demonic growl that didn't seem to belong to any of them. All of a sudden, the Metal Heads that piled on Jak were thrown aside by rag dolls and Jak emerged with a vicious transformation. His skin pigment had turned ghostly-white with his hair receiving a distinguished grey color and his eyes were charcoal-black. The transformed warrior snarled like a wild animal as if challenging the Metal Heads in their own language. The metallic creatures seemed to have accepted the offer. The Metal Heads turned away from Amy and the others and instead charged down on Dark Jak. The overwhelming strength of Jak's transformation was apparent as he effortlessly cut down six Metal Heads simultaneously with a single swing of his lengthened nails.

"Uh-oh, he's pissed!" Daxter screamed around Amy's legs; Jak grabbed the nearest Metal Head and ripped it in two, tossing the remains to the side. "Wahoo! He's pissed!"

"What just happened here?" Amy asked strangely.

"Oh, that?" Daxter said smugly, pointing to the destructive Jak. "Just your everyday Dark Eco experiment."

"Oh man…" Amy whined, dropping to her knees. "I just wanna go home where everything makes sense."

"Chao, chao." Cheese chirped, patting her back for support.

Dark Jak was able to make short work with the Metal Heads due to his enhanced strength and animalistic abilities. The Dark Eco warrior grasped two of the closest Metal Heads together and smashed their skulls against on another, earning a surprisingly pleasant crack. Another grunt attempted to charge from behind, but Dark Jak saw it coming and sidestepped to the left before swiping his claw through its midsection. He took advantage over another grunt by grabbing its neck and pulling sharply upwards, ripping off the head and spine simultaneously. Amy was going to need a lot of psychological therapy after this. But the time Dark Jak was finished having his fun, there were only nine Metal Head grunts left over.

"Don't be shy, boys." Dark Jak growled pleasantly. "There's till plenty of me to go arou – AUGH!" Without warning, the dark warrior dropped to his hands and knees, resuming his original appearance. "No…I'm out of Dark Eco."

"That's bad, right?" Amy questioned uncertainly.

"It pretty much means we're going to die." Jak said tiredly.

"Oh, is that all." Daxter said in a surprisingly calm manner; that last for about six seconds. "AHH! WE'RE GONNA DIE! And I still haven't got to wear pants!"

"What is up with you and pants?" Amy asked, despite this being a bad moment.

"They're actually quite comfortable." Daxter said coolly.

But at this point, the conversation seemed rather pointless. They had nine Metal Head grunts swarming over them, Jak was exhausted from using Dark Eco, and they were left without any weapons. Amy never thought she would go out this way – she always believed it would be the Heartless that would do her in. It was hard to believe that not even three hours ago, she was just standing on the beach, waiting for Sonic and Espio to come home. The princess felt terrible that she would never be given a chance to see them again. But even worse….she never got a chance to hold her mother. But the pink hedgehog was forced back to reality when a thunderous roar ripped across the ruins, followed by the appearance of an oversized truck flying over their heads. The Metal Heads seemed just as surprised to see the gargantuan vehicle before it crushed them under its wheel. The tank-sized truck came to a halt with a rugged screech, facing the group of four.

"Someone call for an army?"

With some assistance from Amy, Jak managed to get back to his feet and looked up to the insane driver. He looked to be at least twenty years older than Jak with pure-white dreadlocks and wearing assorted armor and clothing that vaguely resembled Jak's attire. The elderly man unbuckled himself from the massive vehicle and dropped down to greet his allies.

"You're a long way from the desert, Damas." Jak smiled weakly, shaking the man's hand. "Amy, this is Damas, the former king of Haven City."

"A pleasure to meet you." Amy nodded.

"I'm a little surprised to see you here, Damas." Jak said surprisingly. "I thought you said a smart warrior never takes his opponents head on. And yet you're back in the city, in the middle of the Metal Head territory."

"It all depends on how hard your skull is." Damas said smugly. "I'd wager you and I are both headstrong."

"I don't know weather to be proud or insulted." Jak laughed lightly.

"Have you found the catacombs yet?" Damas asked seriously.

"They're directly underneath the combat racing stadium." Jak explained; Amy seemed generally confused. "Onin said that someone purposely destroyed the Haven Palace to gain easier access to the catacombs and the Precursor Core. Someone must have known the Dark Makers were coming."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up!" Amy exclaimed impatiently. "Catacombs? Precursor Core? Dark Makers? Could someone please tell me what's going on around here?"

"The less you know, the better, kid." Damas shrugged, jumping back into his truck. "Now come on! The sooner we can get to that stadium, the sooner we can crack some Metal Head skull."

"I call shotgun!" Daxter shouted excitedly, jumping for the seat.

"Ladies first, rat boy." Amy stated, snatching Daxter out of the air by his tail. "That's what any real gentleman would do."

"And what do you think you're doing?" Jak questioned strictly as Amy buckled herself into the passenger's seat. "This mission is way too dangerous for a little girl – especially a Princess of Heart. There's no way you're coming with us."

"Sure, I don't have to come with you." Amy said knowingly, examining her nails. "You can drop me off here. I'm sure I'll be able to find my way back to the safer parts of the city. Especially with all those wild Metal Heads running around, killing anything that moves. I'm sure a little girl like myself will be just fine."

That worked well. Jak was sputtering to come up with a logical explanation as to why she shouldn't come, but the pink hedgehog pretty much had him beat at that point. Amy leaned back into the seat with her feet resting on the dashboard, smiling victorious as Jak hanged his head in defeat. Damas laughed quietly to himself, muttering a word that sounded oddly like "whipped". Cheese found a seat on Amy's left shoulder while Jak and Daxter – neither of them was happy – settled themselves into the backseat. King Damas shifted gears and took off for the center of the Haven City ruins, towards the racing stadium.

* * *

**Amy's first adventure proves to be her most challenging. Will she be able to help Jak and Daxter defeat this unknown enemy? Is the cloaked woman really her mother? And will Amy be able to find her friends and return home? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review. **


	40. Amy's Amazing Adventure, Part 2

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

**Note: Because the chapters turned out to be longer than expected, the 'Amy Arc' will be made in four chapters.**

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Amy's Amazing Adventure, Part 2

If there was ever a more abnormal and unorthodox team in the worlds, this was it. If you were ever thinking of a group of heroes, the last people you would think of is a pink princess, a blue fairy, an orange weasel, a gun-wielding lunatic, and a guy that should have had his license suspended. It had been a weird day for Amy Rose since she first arrived in Haven City and encountered Jak and Daxter – the weirdest and most comical duo you could think of. The Princess of Hallow Bastion was sitting in the passenger's seat of Damas' – former king of Haven City – tank-sized car with her new friends in the back seat. Unless you counted the occasional Metal Head ambushes that Damas plowed over, the trip to the heart of the ruins was very uneventful. In that time, Amy had managed to persuade them to tell her the whole story about their adventure. It wasn't that hard considering you have an overdramatic Ottsel in the back seat.

"So, let me get this straight." Amy said conclusively. "You killed this Errol guy over a year ago…"

"Actually, he pretty much did that on his own." Jak said with a satisfactory smile.

"And now this guy somehow came back from the dead as a robot." Amy continued; she didn't seem that surprised or impressed. "So his next move is to wake up these… 'Dark Makers' from their sleep and destroy the world? Sounds like something the Heartless would do."

"Ah, I could take those punks!" Daxter boasted loudly; no one really paid attention. "I'd be all like, BAM, and they'd be all, 'don't hurt us, Daxter', and I'd be all, 'Tough luck, dark losers'!"

"But you still haven't told me what the Dark Makers are." Amy proclaimed; Daxter groaned disappointedly

"I don't really understand it myself." Jak said seriously. "But from what I understand, the Dark Makers and Precursors that got too close to Dark Eco and went over the deep end. They've been floating around the universe for centuries, secure in deep hibernation until the time they wake up and destroy the nearest planet." He sighed anxiously and looked out the ruins. "And knowing our luck, we've been chosen as their next target.

"The only chance we have of stopping them is to activate the Precursor defense system." Damas stated with a concentrated vigor. "It is only proper that the weapon of our great creators would protect us in these dark times."

"Yeah, that's another thing…" Amy said in a disbelieving tone. "I'll admit that your Precursors may have built all this technology and all this other magical stuff, but I seriously doubt they had the kind of power to create the worlds. If you ask me, you're confusing your legends with Kingdom Hearts."

"What blasphemy is this child talking about?" Damas scolded; his attitude matched his appearance.

"Just ignore her, Damas." Jak said urgently, most likely to avoid a fight. "We need to get to the catacombs and activate the defense mechanism before Errol wakes up the Dark Makers."

The former king of Haven City nodded reluctantly in agreement, but that didn't mean he had to like it. The Princess of Heart could understand where he was coming from. How would you feel if someone told you that everything you've ever believed in was considered a lie amongst other worlds? Maybe it would be best to spare him of that. Thankfully, Damas quickly dropped the argument and focused more of his attention on Jak – asking about his progress and even mentioning a Peace Maker mod in the backseat. Men and their guns. Amy rested her hand in her open palm as she leaned against the edge of the door, taking no careful notice that Cheese was chirping fretfully at her shoulder as they bulldozed another swarm of Metal Heads. Though the boys seemed to be enjoying themselves, the Princess of Heart couldn't help wondering if Mephiles had intended for her to arrive here or if it was a complete accident. The former seemed most likely – Mephiles always did plan four steps ahead. But then another thought entered her mind: what if the Higher Powers intentionally sent her here? If so, why? But by unfortunate circumstance, Amy was pulled out of her reverie when an unexpected explosion ripped through the backside of the tank-sized car. The vehicle was flipped forward into the air forced by the impact – the group learned painfully why seatbelts were necessary. Amy was lurched out of the passenger seat, tossed over the windshield, and rolled across the hood of the tank-car with Cheese wrapped securely in her arms. The pink hedgehog could already feel the bruises developing on her arms and legs, but that was the least of her concerns at the moment. She winced at the sound of grinding metal and tucked herself around the tiny fairy for security, trying not to imagine what happened to the others. Finally, the noise stopped and small of burning steel filled her nostrils.

"Chao, chao, chao." Cheese chirped fretfully.

"I don't know." Amy murmured softly. She didn't really understand the little Chao, but it felt right for some reason. "Why does this keep happening to us?"

"Hey!" She looked up as Jak burrowed his way through a pile of dirt; he must have jumped during the blast. "Hey! Is everyone all right?"

"Depends on what you call all right!" Daxter exclaimed as he appeared with his upper body stuffed in a lead pipe. Jak must have wanted his best friend to sweat it out because he waited a few moments before pulling him free. "Whoa! I bet this kinda stuff never happens to the cat guy and the little robot! Animal cruelty, I tell you!"

"What happened?" Amy asked, using a nearby pole to support her stance.

"I don't know." Jak answered with his eyes narrowed seriously. "Where's Damas."

At the moment of the gunman's request, a soft groan emerged from the wreckage of the oversized vehicle. Daxter settled nervously on his friend's shoulder and they dreadfully marched over with Amy hobbling behind them. The moment they found the source of the noise, the pink hedgehog swore the temperate dropped by fifty degrees. The four found the former king of Haven City lying on the ground with the weight of his oversized vehicle crushing his legs and the left portion of his torso. Any normal man would have died I an instant, but the Princess of Heart knew that Damas was a survivor that wouldn't stop fighting until his last dying breath. But judging by how ragged his breathing pattern was, Amy had a feeling it wasn't too far off. The pink hedgehog lowered her eyes to the ground, Daxter lowered his ears, and Cheese chirped with a hint of remorse. The only one that didn't spend the time grieving was Jak. The Eco Warrior wasted no time trying to tip the wreckage of the vehicle off the great king, slamming his shoulders against the hood with all his strength. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

"Save…your strength…kid." Damas proclaimed hoarsely; Jak reluctantly stopped and kneeled to his friend. "It was a good fight…and a good day to die. I know…I haven't done much as…as a king or…as a friend…but I…never regretted…my choices. If anything…I would gladly…do it all…over again."

"You'll be fine, Damas." Amy said, not really believing herself and she lowered to meet the fallen king. "Everything will be ok."

"I am…very proud…" Damas continued weakly, smiling earnestly at the heroes. "To have been at your side…in the end. Jak…this world is…not yet…out of heroes. I can finally…meet our makers….knowing that I did…the right thing."

"I'm sure the Precursors will welcome you as a real hero." Amy said with a said smile.

"We did well together." Jak said, sounding constricted.

"Jak…promise me…one thing." Damas pleaded, coughing softly. "Promise me…you'll find…my son…Mar. You'll know him…when you see…this." The dying king reached into one of his many pockets and settled the objected into Jak's palm. It was an amulet made of red crystal with a symbol that vaguely looked like yin-yang. "He's wearing…an amulet…just like it. A…symbol of our linage…with the great…house…of Mar." Jak looked momentarily dumbstruck for a moment until Damas' ragged breathing brought him back into focus. "Save…the people…Jak. Amy…don't ever…lose hope…keep the light safe. And Daxter…go find…those pants."

The Great King Damas – leaving this world with a smile and a laugh. The former ruler of Haven City lolled his head to the side with his glossy eyes staring peacefully into the cloudy skies above. This was the first time that Amy had witnessed the death of a friend – she watched Broly kill Storm – but she had never been affected this much. She barely knew Damas, yet he left a permanent mark of the princess that she would carry for the rest of her life – she finally understood the pain Sonic and Espio endured daily. For once, Daxter wasn't boasting loudly and instead respectfully closed the king's eyes and settled his hands on his chest, feigning the appearance of sleep. The pink hedgehog chanced a glance at Jak, knowing that he was the closest to the passing king. What surprised her was that the Eco Warrior was holding the amulet that Damas had given him in one hand…and an exact match in the other. Jak seemed equally stunned and horrified as he looked between the ruby gems and back to Damas with a look that seemed on the verge of tears. Amy knew that King Damas had only given Jak one amulet and the appearance of a matching set caused the gears in her brain to turn.

"Jak…" Amy referred softly, settling a glove hand on his rough one. "Damas…was he your father?

"Yes, indeed he is." The group, now reduced to four, looked over to find an aged man Amy had never seen before – they knew where the explosion came from now. "It was a long and difficult journey, but you finally figured it out."

"Veger." Jak muttered, panting heavily with anxiety. "What are you…?"

"I took you from Damas to harness your Eco powers for my experiments." Count Veger continued with a sickening smirk. "But then I lost you to the Underground and I had to start all over again. And when you escaped into the past with Samos, I had feared I had lost you forever. I was ready to lose hope…until you came back." He looked elated at Jak's enraged expression. "You seem upset. Did I tell you too late? You were the son of the great warrior Damas. Oh…and he never knew…how delightful."

"VEGER!" Jak screeched furiously, momentarily reverting to his dark form. "You lying, two-faced son of a bitch!"

"Language in front of company, freak." Veger sneered, motioning his hands to the golden rail tunnels that the group somehow missed in all the action. "I must thank you for opening the door to the Precursors. Don't worry, I'll be back to put you out of your misery."

Amy still didn't understand why two cars just happen to be sitting in the face of the tunnel as the despicable Count Veger made his way to the first one. Jak was seriously pissed, but didn't have enough Dark Eco to full transform. So he scrambled for his Morph Gun and loaded his blaster mod, trying to shoot down the corrupted man with every bullet he had. Unfortunately, Count Veger had already escaped into the Precursor tunnel and was making his way to the core of the world.

"What are ya waiting for?" Daxter yelled, jumping on his friend's shoulder. "After him!"

"You're willing to go down there?" Jak questioned surprised. "Without a fuss this time?"

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it." Daxter excused. "It's just that nobody hurts my best friend and lives to brag about it."

"I agree." Amy said with a stony expression; Jak blinked in surprise. "I've seen some pretty cruel things in my life, but no man has the right to separate a parent from his child." Her eyes wandered to the ground again, thinking of the Black Cloaked woman. "No one deserves that kind of fate."

The Eco Warrior had the sudden suspicion that Amy was speaking from experience, but he didn't pry. If she didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to force her. Looking back at the man he shortly came to know as his father, Jak holstered his Morph Gun and flipped into the second vehicle with Daxter nestled on his shoulder and Amy jumping into the passenger seat with Cheese in her arms. Thankfully, the gunman had experience with vehicles and raced into the steep chambers that would lead to the Precursor Core and the answers he had been looking for.

* * *

"Ugh…I am so glad we don't have these on the islands." Amy moaned.

After a long trip through the perilous catacombs, Jak and the rest of the group found themselves in a seemingly endless void of darkness – not exactly inviting. The Eco Warrior was steering the hovercraft through the sea of black with his muscles twitching anxiously while taking notice of his younger companion, who was leaning over the side. The pink hedgehog didn't know what was worse: the catacombs or Jak's driving. Amy was able to admit that the armored gunman had skill when it came to maneuvering around tight turns and sharp reflexes, but that didn't say anything about his recklessness. They had brushed against the steel columns of the catacombs six time, narrowly avoided the pitfalls, and partially singed Amy's quills when driving past a spinning laser. Needless to say, she wasn't about to let Jak drive on the way back. The Eco Warrior grabbed Amy by the back of her shirt to pull her back into her seat – he wasn't going to lose two friends in one day.

"Ah, lighten up, sweet cheeks." Daxter said confidently. "It wasn't that bad."

"Says the Ottsel that was screaming for his 'pooky-bear' for ten minutes." Amy retorted; Cheese chirped in a laughed manner. "Any idea where we are now?"

"We should have followed Veger straight into the Core itself." Jak answered darkly; sparks of Dark Eco jumped between his fingers. "If we go any further, we're gonna – whoa!"

'Whoa' was a bit of an understatement in Amy's opinion. The pink princess had only been to a total of five worlds in her lifetime – counting this one – but this place put even Hollow Bastion to shame. The Precursor Core was an unbelievably large chamber roughly the size of a small moon with tunnels that seemed to travel everywhere in the world. Countless numbers of rings ranging from different sizes filled up most of the chamber, circling one another or the displays the protected. Such displays includes a perfect hologram map of the universe, several cases with technology the likes Amy had never seen before, and even numerous windows that showed random events taking place. One of the windows that caught her attention showed an image of three armored warriors in a field of Keyblades facing a mask man with a golden scepter and a young man with his face concealed by a domed helmet. Something tugging at Amy's hearts told her the scene looked vaguely familiar. The Princess of Heart was brought back to reality by Cheese's chirps when she finally realized they had reached the heart of the Core. A solitary platform carrying cannon-like devices remained under the shadow of what appeared to be a bronze anteater. The devilish-red eyes of the statue shined as the group settled themselves on the platform and exited the vehicle.

"Greetings, great warrior." The statue echoed in a booming voice. "Before it is too late, you must power up the planet's defense system." Amy looked pretty clueless, but Jak boldly stepped forward with his family amulet clasped in his palm. The armored warrior raised the amulet to the statue, shining a brilliant-red light that traveled to the cannon-like appendages. "The Eco Sphere has begun its energy conversion. It will take some time for the weapon to fully charge."

"So…that's it?" Amy asked cluelessly. "Mission over? We saved the world?"

"I…think so." Jak responded uncertainly, scratching his shaggy hair. "In all honesty, this seems a bit anticlimactic for my tastes. I was at least hoping for a big monster to fight before I really saved the world."

"Count your blessings, warrior." The statue boomed. All of a sudden, a shimming-blue man composed entirely of light appeared before the group of four. "Your have proven your worth in these dark times, hero. For your courage, we wished to grant you the gift of evolution…to become one of us."

"Me? A Precursor?" Jak stammered amazingly.

"Hey! What about me?" Daxter snapped, shaking his fist. "Can ya change me back? Or at least get me a decent pair of pants?"

"Again with the pants." Amy sighed; Cheese chirped. "Well, I guess that's the end of that."

"Not quite." The group turned as Count Veger emerged from the shadows, holding a short pistol to the heroes. Jak was tempted to thrash the traitorous slime on the spot, but didn't want to put Amy at risk. "I will be the one who evolves into a Precursor. The right is mine!"

"Be careful what you wish for…" The Precursor forewarned.

Amy already believed that the Precursors were just advanced geniuses that stole creating from the Higher Powers and Kingdom Hearts, but now she wasn't sure about the 'genius' part. Without a far warning to the evil councilman, the Precursor enveloped the wicked Veger in a shower of light, filling him with the power of the Precursors. First his father and now his evolution – Veger wouldn't stop until he took everything away from Jak. And just like that, Count Veger dropped to his knees with a malevolent smirk as the light died away. He had become a Precursor, the one thing he strived so hard to obtain.

"Yes…it is done." Veger said menacingly, pointing his pistol to the Eco Warrior's face. "But don't worry, Jak. It is for the greater good that I assume this role."

"Even now, it may be too late." The Precursor said exasperatedly, drawing the attention of all who was there. "If Errol awakens the Dark Ship cargo, all will be lost."

"All right, listen, glow boy!" Daxter snapped; Amy was on his side for once. "We've been doing all your dirty work while you slept in the stars! So stuff it!"

"Inefficient…" The Precursor proclaimed. However, he turned around to address someone that wasn't even there. "I told you we needed a backup hero. We should have gone with plan B." Strangely enough, the glowing figure began flailing uncontrollably across the air. "OW! Hey! Cut it out!"

Whatever forces that kept the Precursor bound to this reality was no longer in play as the glowing humanoid vanished into the world nonexistence. Immediately following the strange outburst, a concealed doorway at the base of the anteater statue began to glide outwards with a brilliant glow of light blinding the newcomers of the Precursor Core. Everyone was forced to shield their eyes until the light dimmed enough for them to have a better view. What they saw pretty much left them speechless. The guests of the legendary Precursors stared at the opening with their jaws dropped to the farthest extent – Veger hed even unconsciously dropped his pistol.

"Oh…" Amy began.

"My…" Daxter continued.

"God…" Jak finished.

The inside of the statue looked like some sort of command center, but that wasn't what shocked them. Standing at the controls of the giant machine were three Ottsels that looked exactly like Daxter with some noticeable differences. The Ottsel in the middle was rotund and carried a glowing staff in one hand and a microphone in the other. The Ottsel to the left was thin, yet seemed to come off like a stereotypical surfer. The last of the orange creatures looked somewhat out of place with his enlarged buck teeth and generally looked lost. The major difference that Daxter took notice of was that fact that each of them were wearing silvery-white clothing…and pants! The Ottsel trio turned away from the controls and looked back the group, looking like children who had just got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"Yes…well…" The middle Ottsel said into the microphone, echoing in the booming voice. "Ah…um, now we are even more angry. And ah…we order you to avert your eyes or we will um…" The leader Ottsel give up and threw the microphone over his shoulder. "Oh, what's the point?"

"They look like me?" Daxter said strangely.

"As if one of them wasn't bad enough." Amy groaned openly; Cheese nodded.

"Not what you expected?" The Leader Ottsel asked.

"Yeah, we like get that a lot." The Surfer Ottsel commented.

"Ok, now I know they didn't create the other worlds." Amy said dryly with an unimpressed expression.

"Well, we didn't exactly create the worlds, per se." The Leader Ottsel said nervously. "We are the loyal followers of Arceus, the leader of the Higher Powers, and assistants to Mata Nui, the true creator of the world."

"Mata Nui created the universe?" Amy blinked surprisingly.

"Not exactly, dudette." The Surfer Ottsel explained. "All the Higher Powers helped make the universe. Mata Nui Built the worlds, Black Doom created the darkness, Fanglongmon created the light, Nagato made the human, Malefor made the animals, Arceus created life, and Exodia gave them spirits."

"And together, they made Kingdom Hearts." Amy concluded.

"Before Kingdom Hearts became a being of its own choosing." The Leader Ottsel nodded.

"This is just perfect." Jak groaned into his hands. "All these years, I've been chasing after orange rodents."

"Don't look so upset." The Leader Ottsel said kindly. "If you knew we Precursors were a bunch of fuzzy little rats, would you worship us? So, we fluffed up the myth…a bit."

"Then we get the respect we deserve!" The Dummy Ottsel cheered.

"You idiots!" The heroes jumped; they had forgotten that Veger was still there. "Get down from there and stop defiling that glorious machine!"

Big mistake in Amy's opinion. Though they didn't officially create the universe, the Princess of Heart knew they had to be powerful from working under the Higher Powers. And without even blinking an eye, the orange rodents had suspended in a bubble of crimson-red energy. Jak, who had initially reached for his Morph Gun to stop Veger, quickly dropped his hands before the Precursors could spot him. He was considering listening to Daxter more often.

"Do not let our size fool you." The Leader Ottsel said in a threatening manner, which was kinda difficult since he was only two feet tall. "We are celestial beings second only to the Higher Powers themselves."

"And Kingdom Hearts." Amy added subconsciously. "And the Heartless. And the Keyblade Masters. And the…"

"Thank you." The Leader Ottsel said curtly, hoping to shut her up.

"Ok, just answer one thing." Jak said, finally regaining his wits. "Why does Daxter look like…?"

"Ah yes." The Leader Ottsel smiled sincerely. "All Eco on this world contains the source of our essence, our code so to speak. When Daxter touched the Dark Eco, he was actually blessed when he thought he was cursed."

"Wahoo! I'm a Precursor!" Daxter screamed joyously, going into a little song and dance. "I'm a Precursor! I'm a Precursor!"

"Settle down, I doubt even this place is big enough for your ego." Amy chided; Cheese chirped in agreement.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Daxter shouted, ignoring the hedgehog. "They have pants."

"And we're back to the pants." Amy muttered.

"These creatures are the great Precursors?" Veger exclaimed frantically. "And I wanted to evolve into – No! NO!"

Jak and the other heroes watched with equal parts pity and amusement as the traitorous councilman started fighting against his impossible bonds. It was only a matter of moments before a scarlet-red mist coated his body and the heartless politician began shrinking within his little bubble. And with a small pop, a dark-orange Ottsel was left hanging in the red sphere wearing Veger's shirt, but not his pants. A fact Veger kinda clued in on when feeling his newly acquired tail.

"A little drafty, isn't it." Daxter said smugly.

"That would be karma at work." Amy smiled, patting Cheese's head happily.

"Now we have more important matters to return to." The Leader Ottsel commended. "The only way to ensure that Errol will not awaken the ship's cargo is to go there yourself and stop him. We will send you there from here."

"But the weapon…" Jak said, motioning to the charging cannons.

"Chill out, buddy." The Surfer Ottsel said in an easygoing tone. "You should have mondo minutes to go there and get back here pronto. Way before…"

"Hopefully before." The Leader added.

"BOOM!" The Dummy Ottsel yelled stupidly.

"Then we don't have time to waste." Jak nodded, turning to his newest companion. "You ready for this, Amy?"

"You want me to go with you?" Amy questioned surprisingly.

"As long as you promised not to shoot me with your eyes closed." Jak said jokingly before resting a hand on her shoulder. "Weather you like it or not, you're a part of this now. And besides, I have a feeling I'm gonna need your help."

The Princess of Heart felt her heart soar at the comment. No one had ever shown much faith in her. She was usually regarded as a burden that always got in the way, though no one dared to say it out loud. The pink hedgehog had been planning for a whole year until the day she would set out on her own journey to find her friends and help them against the Heartless. At least she'd get good practice with this. True to the Precursor's word, one of the many spinning rings formed a portal of vibrant-blue light in the heart of the Precursor Core. Under Amy's command, Cheese stayed behind with the Ottsel Trio, waving his stubby little hand in goodbye as the group made a charge for the portal. There was no turning back now, Amy thought as she dived into the light behind Jak, allowing the energy wave to shoot her soul through the stars. With the heroic trio gone, the light faded away into the void of darkness – the Leader Ottsel smacked his staff in the back of the Dummy's head.

"You idiots!" The Leader Ottsel scolded. "I told you we needed a plan B!"

"Hey, they'll be all right." The Surfer Ottsel said optimistically, waving his hands in surrender. "Besides, Jak's got the girl helping him, remember."

"Yes, but I don't know how much help an inexperience Keyblade Wielder can be." The Leader Ottsel commented.

"Um…Can I get some pants?" Veger asked hopefully

* * *

**The Strange truth just gets stranger. Will Jak and Amy be able to overcome the power of Errol and the Dark Makers? Will they make it back before the weapon goes off? And what secrets do the Precursors know about Amy? Find out of the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	41. Amy's Amazing Adventure, Part 3

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Amy's Amazing Adventure, Part 3

The scene opens to the Corridors of Space between the worlds as Sonic and his teammates traveled through sea of blinking stars. The squadron of furry heroes was just coming from a futuristic world after helping a teenager dressed as a bat defeat a radioactive skeleton. The good news: they beat the bad guy – the bad news: Marine was her own nightlight. Angel explained that the radioactivity would wear off within a few days, but the heroes made to keep their distance…just in case. But despite the momentary reprieve, Sonic couldn't shake off the buzzing feeling the back of his brain, which reflected on his facial expressions.

"Something wrong, Sonic?" Silver questioned strangely. "You have that stupid look on your face. Then again, you always have that look on your face."

"Do you guys get the feeling we're missing something important." Sonic asked with uncertainty.

Unfortunately, the Keyblade Wielder of Twilight would never realize how right he was. As the Sonic Team passed over the world of Haven City, they failed to notice the massive spacecraft floating lofty over the planet's atmosphere due to its advanced cloaking technology. The outer hull of the astral vehicle was forged from an unknown metal that allowed it to blend with the dark backdrop of space with alien-like tentacles flexing at various places. On the under layer of spacecraft displayed what appeared to be a violet shade of organic compounds with the occasional sky-blue pulse passing through the surface. The Dark Maker's ship were brilliant in order to develop a system that kept them invisible to the world below and the cobalt hedgehog above. Now the fate of the world rested in the hands of a pink princess, a weasel without pants, and a free shooter with a split personality.

Does this sound bad or what?

* * *

The scene opens within the confines of the Dark Maker's ship as a brief flash of vibrant-blue light erupted above a raised platform within the heart of the spacecraft. Jak was the first one the land nimbly on his feet with Daxter smacking face first into the floor and Amy falling ungracefully on her backside. She just can't seem to get a break these days. After peeling his best friend off the pavement, the Eco Warrior took a moment to take in his new surroundings. The chamber they had entered was actually a multileveled structure with six rows of walkways surrounding the same neon-green cylinder and branching out to rest of the Dark Maker's ship. The walls were composed a similar violet compound as seen in the outer shell of the spacecraft, the floor were chiseled from refined minerals, and the entrances between area appeared as spiral doorways. What truly attracted Jak's attention was that the 'heart' of the ship was an actual, perpetually-black heart with crimson veins beating protectively behind the cylinder walls. It was as if the whole ship was one giant Dark Maker – that's a strange thought in Jak's opinion.

"Whoa, that was freaky!" Daxter exclaimed anxiously as he jumped to his partner's shoulder. "I saw my whole life flash before my eyes. I knew I should have gotten Taryn's number – she was smokin'!"

"You can take a trip to fantasy lane later." Amy said blandly; Daxter scowled hurtfully. "Ok, so we made it into the Dark Maker's ship, but what are we supposed to do now. Do we just search every room until we find Errol?"

"We could do that." Jak said with a devious grin, snatching the Morph Gun from over his shoulder. "Or we could just bring them to us."

Judging by the panicking expression on Daxter's face, Amy had a feeling that she wasn't going to like what happens next. The Eco Warrior detached the yellow Blaster Mod from the base of his weapon and replaced it with the purple Peace Maker Mod – a final gift from Jak's dearly departed father. The armed gunman lowered his vision to peer across the edge of the rifle and aimed his sight towards the demonic heart in the center. From the moment he pulled back the trigger, a culmination of electrical particles began to form a smooth sphere at the barrel of the gun. The sparking orb thrusted forward at the instant Jak's finger pulled away, causing the Eco Warrior to skid backwards ever so slightly. The charged blast spiraled momentarily through the air before colliding with the barrier protecting the ship's heart, distorting the force shield momentarily. Any damage done to the vital remained undetermined, but it seemed to do the job. An unearthly shriek pierced throughout the Dark Maker's ship like a beastly alarm and created a sudden tremor that nearly unbalanced the invasive heroes. Amy had to maintain a firm grip on Jak's forearm to prevent herself from falling over until the quake passed over a few seconds later.

"What was that?" Amy snapped.

"Just sending a little message to our courteous hosts." Jak said in a tone that made it seem obvious.

"Whatever happened to the stealthy approach?" Amy complained.

"Ah, lighten up, toots." Daxter said leisurely, earning a glare from the pink princess. "You're in good hands as long as your with Orange Lightning. I am a Precursor – did I mention that?"

"Seventeen times on the way here." Amy muttered lowly.

"Well, 'Orange Lightning'…" Jak chuckled enthusiastically. "Ya better whip up some of that Precursor mojo because we've got company."

Just moments before he announced their presence, the spiral doorway opened to allow access for a collection of Dark Maker drones. The troopers were a head taller than Jak with dark-violet skin, abstract legs reminiscent of an insect, and their right arms were drastically longer than their left and exceptionally sharper. Black armored plates were scattered mostly armored the soldiers' torsos with the additions of protective helmets and exaggerated spikes growing from their shoulders for intimidation purposes. Just by counting the few that were appearing through the entranceway, Amy could sense that they were greatly outnumbered. Three Dark Maker Troopers kneeled in a perfect line across the walkway with three more standing in attention overhead – all of them extended their claws to the intruders. Amy had enough sense to tuck and roll to the side as the organized soldiers began shooting concentrated douses of energy that the princess recognized as Dark Eco. She managed to avoid the initially attack and crawled behind a nearby crate made from dark metal, listening to the vibrating thuds of the blast smacking against her protective zone. The pink hedgehog searched the opposite end of the walkway, finding Jak shielding himself behind one of the chamber support beams, occasionally taking a shot with his Peace Maker Mod. Needless to say, the blast sphere was effective against the troopers by shattering the invisible shields protecting them and scattering electrical charges through their armor. But the Dark Makers were corrupted Precursors – they were always prepared. After the first division failed, a second group tossed the deceased soldiers over the gangway and took their previous position. Jak retaliated with the Peace Maker again, only to be met with the same result.

"They're like a hydra." Jak scowled, barely ducking a close shot of Dark Eco. "Take out one head and two more take their place. I'm down to my last charge and none of the other Mods are nearly strong enough to penetrate their shields."

"Can't you just go all Dark Jak on them?" Amy asked, covering her head from another assault.

"There's too much Dark Eco on this ship." Jak responded as he replaced the Peace Maker with the Reflector Mod. "If I lose my cool, there's a chance I could overload and stay stuck in that form forever."

"Great!" Daxter exclaimed frantically. "This can't possibly get any worse!"

This was one of the many times Amy wished she could smack that orange ferret upside the head. Because not a moment later, another group of Dark Maker Troopers were stealthily crawling the support beams from the higher levels. Jak was too focused on handling the task force confronting them that he failed to realize that another swarm of these monstrosities were just a few feet away from his head. Amy had already lost several friends including Damas – she wasn't prepared to give up Jak. So either out of bravery or stupidity, the pink hedgehog dived across the walkway under heavy fire from the soldiers She was considerably lucky by rolling the scattered rays of Dark Eco and coming out with on a bit of singed hair and a small hole in her right shoe. Jak was genuinely surprised to find his furry friend taking such a risk, but there would be time for questions later. Amy was still the only one that acknowledged the presence of the stealth soldiers and needed to work fast. That's when things turned…weird in Amy's opinion. The pink hedgehog merely swiped her hand at the closest Dark Maker Trooper and somehow managed to skyrocket the beast backwards into its comrades and shoot them through the roof. Heroes and Dark Makers alike were as wide-eyed as confused as the princess who committed the act. Though she wasn't certain, Amy thought she saw a brief flash of light with her hand feeling unusually heavy before the sensation disappeared a split second later.

"Something you're not telling us?" Jak asked strangely

"I…don't know…what happened." Amy said awkwardly, staring intently into her palm. "I just thought that…maybe I could help…somehow. And it…just happened."

"Well, any chance you could help out, I don't know, NOW!" Daxter screamed urgently.

"I think was a one time thing." Amy answered sheepishly.

"Then we're gonna have to work with what we've got." Jak said insistently. But after a brief moment of pause, the Eco Warrior's muscles seemed unusually tense. "Is it just me…or have they stopped shooting at us."

"The pleasure of killing your is reserved for me, Eco freak!"

The abnormal trio sharply turned on their heels at the tone, which sounded oddly mechanical. Jak's group craned their heads back to gain a better visual of the walkway above them as a series of heavy thuds and metallic creaking could be heard moving closer. When the originator made a full appearance, Amy nearly mistook him for another Dark Maker Trooper. The newcomer was the same build and size of the black soldiers, but was entirely mechanical with lead piping visible in the exposed regions. Crimson armor plates were strategically welded to machine's chest, left shoulder, and both feet with gold finishing for visual purposes. Much similar to the Dark Makers, the mechanical warrior's left arm was unnaturally larger than its opposite with heavy crimson plating covering the forearm and four golden claws. But the face was perhaps the greatest oddity. Amy could tell that he was entirely robotic underneath, but the machine wore a shredded mask of an orange-haired male that barely covered half of its face. But despite the mechanical design of the titan, emotions were still a factor based on the heated glares shared between him and Jak.

"It's been a while, Eco freak." The cybernetic titan sneered; his gaze traveled over the pink hedgehog. "And you added another filthy rodent to your collection. How fitting."

"Who're you calling a rat?" Daxter shouted undignified. "I am a Precursor!"

"You're through, Errol!" Jak said determined. "In a few minutes, the Planetary Defense System will be active and destroy this ship along with everything inside it, especially you."

"Hah! You think the Dark Maker's haven't expected this!" Errol boasted victoriously. "They knew the Precursors would attempt a full frontal assault and have accommodated for the occasion. The defense shields you disabled earlier were only the first line of defense, Eco freak." He pointed one of his golden claws to the black heart. "Do you know what this is, freak?"

"Uh…the world's ugliest chandelier?" Daxter answered cluelessly.

"This is the central core." Errol explained snidely. "Within it lies all the information that allows the Dark Maker's to build and function – a master control program if you will. The shield surrounding it can absorb all Eco outside its own, making it invulnerable to your pitiful defense grid. You may be able to destroy the ship, but as long as the central core remains, the Dark Makers were return again and again until they have completely annihilated all Light Eco!"

"Ok, that makes sense." Amy nodded, earning strange stares from her comrades. "But where do you fit into all this? What's gonna happen after you blow up with the rest of the ship?

"That's the beauty of it." Errol said with confidence in his mechanical tone. The cybernetic titan skipped off the edge of the platform and landed a few feet away from the heroes with a heavy thud, cracking the pavement beneath. "Don't you think it's odd how the Dark Makers have yet to destroy me despite the many opportunities presented to them?"

"I'm guessing it ain't because of your sparkling personality." Daxter joked.

"After I was reformed in my new body, my interface connected with Dark Maker's central core." Errol explained as he stomped closer to the trio, causing them to stagger backwards. "It took over a year to get through the scanners and firewalls, but I finally managed to link with the central core's mainframe and reprogrammed it with a backup function. Unlike your biological weaknesses, I am pure metal. When the Dark Maker's rebuild themselves, I will be reborn as their master!"

"We'll stop you before that ever happens." Jak stated seriously.

"You may have been lucky in the past, Eco freak!" Errol sneered spitefully. "But now I am stronger, smarter, and far superior than any of you biological vermin! I am Errol, master of the Dark Makers! I am the Dark Makers!"

"And you talk too much." Amy commented.

It was probably the mechanical portion of his personality, but Errol failed to see the humor in the hedgehog's taunt. The mechanical titan raised his enlarged gauntlet into view and released a hidden slot beneath the armor. And with a single twitch of his wrist, a crimson laser burned through the air. Now Amy's combative instincts weren't fully developed at this point, but Jak bravely dived sideways and dragged the pink princess with him – Daxter somehow remained suspended in midair for a few seconds. But as you can expect from his kind of luck, the dimwitted Ottsel regained his gravitational pull a half-second before the laser pierced through his tiny brain. Errol refocused his attention at the unlikely Precursor and slashed his arm diagonally, commanding the laser to follow in his trail. Fortunately, 'Orange Lightning' lived up to his name by scurrying away for protection behind the same crate as Amy and Jak were using as shelter. This proved to be a grave consequence as Errol's laser slashed through the black-metal cube like it was butter, barely singing the top of Jak, Daxter, and Amy's hairline – she wasn't having a good hair day. Errol armed himself for another shot when the Eco Warrior suddenly jumped into view, taking a wild shot with his Morph Gun. Jak's marksmen skills proved to be superior as he disabled Errol's weapon with a single shot.

"Blasted Eco freak!" Errol shrieked, ripping the useless projectile from his gauntlet. "Why won't you just die?"

"Why won't you get a decent haircut?" Jak retorted.

"Um…that pun seems a little off topic." Amy commented questionably.

"Really?" Jak asked.

"You know, I'm actually with pinky on this one." Daxter nodded from Jak's shoulder. "I'd probably have been funny when he was a street punk, but the guy's made of metal now. You'll need to think of somethin' catchier."

"Any suggestions?" Jak shrugged.

"I have a few."

It was amazing how off topic fights these days can be. The unusual trio were so caught up with their debate that they never realized that Errol may have more devices in his arsenal. The mechanical titan had removed a hidden panel from his shoulder armor, revealing four slots filled with rockets charged with purple lightning – Dark Eco missiles. The master of the Dark Makers barely flinched as the rockets ignited and screeched across the chamber. One flew off course and exploded a few feet from its target, Jak push his furry friend aside from another projectile, and the Eco Warrior himself acrobatically dodged between the final two missiles. The green-haired gunman took advantage of Errol's temporary disarmament by charge the mechanical titan head-on, simultaneous swapping his yellow Blaster Mod for a Red Mod. Errol's expression grimaced at the approaching 'Eco freak' as he swiped his enlarged claw for his enemy's face, missing miserably when the warrior ducked. Jak pressed the barrel of his Morph Gun in Errol's chest plate before pulling the trigger, release an explosion of scarlet Eco that went off like a bomb. Due to the close range of both combatants, the pressure sent Jak and Errol flying in opposite directions. The master of the Dark Maker fell back with a heavy thud containing visible damage in his torso. The son of Damas tumbled for a brief moment, simultaneously throwing Daxter off his shoulder and scattering his Morph Gun and Mod attachments across the floor. While 'Orange Lightning' shook the stars from his eyes, Amy skipped over the scattered weapons and dropped down to Jak's side.

"You ok?" Amy asked with concern.

"I've been better." Jak groaned, pressing his palm into his pounding forehead. "Where's Errol."

"Right here, Eco freak!" Before the heroes realized what happened, Errol's golden claws constricted around Jak's waist and lifted him off the ground. The mechanical titan showed visibly damage by the sparking hole in his chest plate, but still retained his strength. "I should have heeded my own advice by killing you instead of allow that idiotic baron to perform failed experiments. But now I will correct that mistake."

And with minimal effort, the master of the Dark Maker threw Jak bodily over the edge of the walkway, smiling proudly and the green-haired warrior disappeared into the darkness below.

"JAK!" Daxter screamed fearfully.

"With him out of the way and the central core secured, nothing can stop the invasion." Errol said in a final tone, turning in attention to the orange Ottsel and the pink hedgehog. "And now to clean up the mess."

If Errol was able to beat Jak – the strongest member of the group – how would they be able to stand up to him? Amy really wished she knew how she performed that small bit of miracle earlier, but her nerves were visibly shaken under the coldhearted gaze of the resurrected machine. Errol stretched his enhanced claw over the weak duo as Daxter jumped into the princess's arms and the pink hedgehog tightened her grip for security. Amy could almost feel the machine's cold clutches threatening to crush her head inward. But strangely enough, the feeling was replaced with a sudden warmth in her heart that went along with the vibrant-blue light that seemed to fill the chamber. Errol was equally stunned when a solid blue hand slapped over his face and pushed the mechanical titan back by several feet onto his back. Amy and Daxter looked up in astonishment for the protector and nearly mistook him for the illusion that the Precursors masqueraded through. Then they realized that the new character was Jak except he had brilliant-blue skin, clear-white eyes, and a pair of butterfly-like wings sprouting from his spinal cord. The Eco Warrior hovered momentarily with a flap of his wings before touching down, dispelling the appendages.

"How are you doing this?" Errol snarled intensely as he stood up. "You're a freak of Dark Eco – you can't possibly have power over the light."

"Light and Dark Eco exist within everything." Jak stated sagely. "The trick is to find the right balance between them."

"Balance?" Errol scoffed. "What balance? Light Eco is revered as the force of good and Dark Eco is seen as the embodiment of evil. That is way the Precursors and Dark Makers are heavily different in so many ways."

"I won't say the Dark Makers are evil because they were infected by Dark Eco," Jak continued undisturbed. "But they are evil because of how they misuse it. Yourself included. And it's only now that I realize the Precursors never meant for the Light Eco to become the dominant force either."

"Then what is there left?" Errol questioned certainly. "One force must surpass the other. That is the only way we can shape our world."

"The Precursors never believed that and neither do I." Jak said with certainty. "Light and Dark Eco need each other to survive – one can't live without the other. I believe I was gifted with the power to channel Eco so that I could find perfect harmony between them. If there is a way to unite Light and Dark Eco, then I, Mar, Son of King Damas and Heir of the House of Mar, will find a way."

Errol stood unimpressed and Daxter looked as confused as ever, but Jak's speech really took its toll on the pink princess. What if that was reason for all this? Sonic following the path to the light and Espio falling into the darkness – they balanced each other out. But before the hedgehog princess could contemplate the facts any further, her mind was forced back to reality as Jak and Errol jumped right back into combat. Because of the Eco Warrior's point blank shot, Errol's weapon system was permanently disabled and force into hand-to-hand combat. And thanks to Jak's Light Form, both of them were now on equal ground. For the earliest portions of the battle, the prince of Haven City was gracefully curving around Errol's punches and returning with his own effective blows that caused the mechanical titan to stumble more than once. But as the fight dragged on, Amy began to notice that Jak's movements were becoming increasingly sluggish at an alarming rate and it would be long before Errol had the upper hand.

"What's wrong with him?" Amy asked silently. "It looks like he's getting weaker."

"The Light Eco works the same as the Dark Eco." Daxter explained without his usual swagger. "And in a place like this, it's a wonder where he even got the strength to change in the first place."

Amy had a faint idea where he might have gotten the light energy from. But if what Daxter said was true, Jak wouldn't be able to sustain his Light Form for longer than a few minutes. And when that was over, so were they. Jak had brought the pink princess with him because he was certain that she would be a valuable ally in this quest. But so far, all she had managed to accomplish was not dying and defeating a few Dark Makers without knowing how. The rosy hedgehog leaned back, sighing depressingly, when she felt her finger touch something other than granite. Looking down, her brow raised suggestively at the Purple Mod lying uselessly on the floor. Meanwhile, Errol had finally managed to gain an advantage over Jak's sudden weakness and closed his claw over the Eco Warrior's chest, slamming him roughly into the floor. He took great pride in watching the glowing freak squirming under his grip.

"Admit it, freak." Errol hissed darkly. "You've failed – you can't save the world."

"I'll die trying." Jak said defiantly.

"Oh, you will." Errol replied with a malevolent glint. "And last words?"

"Hey, bucket brains!" Heroes and villain alike snapped their heads in confusion in Amy's direction. One could only imagine the surprised expressions on their faces when they spotted the pink hedgehog taking aim with the Peace Maker. "Compute this!"

The rosy princess pulled back on the trigger, maintaining a healthy charge before release the full force of the energy weapon that caused her to fall back on her butt. With the electrical sphere flying in their direction, Jak used Errol's stunned stature as leverage and successfully kicked his to free himself from the mechanical titan's grip. With the 'Eco freak' safe and a fully loaded Peace Maker only a foot away, only one word escaped Errol's bionic lips.

"Slag."

The energized sphere exploded against the machine's torso and threw Errol back with the force of a speeding train, sending the mechanical titan flailing backwards over the edge. And to add insult to injury, the angle of the blast propelled Errol into the protective shield surrounding the central core. Errol's cybernetic body sparked an unusual distortion within the force shield that not only shattered the barrier, but equally evaporated the robotic traitor into a faint cloud of grey smoke. Jak – still remaining in his Light Form – stared at the space where Errol vanished from the realm of existence for the second, but this time seemed to show signs of pity. He never liked Errol, but hardly anyone deserves to die a second time. Feeling a sudden weight on his shoulder, Light Jak looked over to find his best friend taking his usual place as Amy approached them with the Morph Gun still in hand.

"Nice shot." Jak complimented. "You didn't shoot with your eyes closed, did ya?"

"Maybe." Amy giggled, tossing the weapon to its rightful owner. "But I think I'll stick with toy swords and metal pipes – they seem to be my specialty."

"I noticed." Jak chuckled.

"Enough with the love fest, will ya?" Daxter groaned dramatically. "We better amscray before…"

But whatever the dimwitted Precursor was referring to made itself rather apparent almost instantly. In all the commotion, Jak and Amy had completely forgotten the Planetary Defense System that was set to eliminate the Dark Maker's ship. A hefty reminder came in the form of a conjoined laser of Light and Dark Eco that speared through the walls of the chamber and missed the heroes by only two feet. Thanks to their efforts in destroying the barrier, the Precursor weapon landed a direct hit through the central core, which dissolved into a purple mist short after the assault. With the destruction of the heart, the Dark Maker's Ship began to quiver violently and threatened to cave in over the heroes. But by divine fortune that seemed to follow them, a ring of vibrant-blue light appeared some distance over the edge of the walkway.

"Look like out ride's here." Jak smirked.

Making sure to secure Daxter on his shoulder and Amy under his arm, the Eco Warrior rematerialized his wings and flapped them with enough strength to glide across the air and through the glowing circle.

* * *

The scene alternates to the Corridors of Space at the exact moment the Dark Maker's ship successfully imploded from the Precursor laser. The explosion created from the spacecraft's explosion created a vibrating ripple effect that shook everything within one hundred miles. This included the Sonic Team that was barely passing over Haven City's atmosphere. The unexpected shockwave cause most of the travelers to fall and cling to their board for security with stupefied expression. And when they looked back, they didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Again, do you guys feel like we missed something very important?" Sonic repeated strangely.

"Hey guys." Marine, now completely hairless, called to attention. "Is this supposed to happen?"

* * *

The scene dissolved to the Precursor Core buried deep beneath the surface of Haven City twenty minutes following the destruction of the Dark Makers. In the time it took them, Jak had managed to recover himself from his injuries, Amy had reunited with Cheese, and the Precursors had informed them that Veger was now under the full custody of a Wastelander named Kleaver. That last notion brought a vicious smile on Daxter's face. At the present moment, Jak and Amy stood proudly side-by-side with Daxter ad Cheese perched on their respective shoulders as they face the Precursors respectfully. That was the difficult part considering that they were praised a bunch of orange furballs.

"Thank you." The Leader Ottsel said happily. "Your strength and wisdom in these times gave us reason to fight back against the Dark Makers. And because of your courage, we have finally turned the tide against our enemies."

"But dude," The Surfer Ottsel continued. "There are, like, way more challenges in the future."

"Duh…or is that the past?" The Dummy Ottsel asked stupidly.

"Yes, yes, I was getting to that." The Leader Ottsel said impatiently. "Heroes like you are rare, Jak. Seeking to find a balance between the light and darkness is a harsh road and one that must not be taken lightly. We are proud to know that there are still few who seek to do what is right.

"As am I"

That one certainly didn't belong to a Precursor – it held must greater authority and seemed to vibrate from every area of the core. Jak and his friends staggered in a paranoid as they scanned the chamber, but the Precursors seemed strangely petrified by the booming tone. And in an instant, they dropped to their knees in an unmistakable bow. Amy was terrified. What could be so powerful that even the great Precursors would throw away all dignify to this unknown figment. And when Jak forcibly turned her around by the shoulder, she realized what they were dealing with. Both heroes found themselves face with a massive beast that seemed to fill the entire chamber and emitted a godly aura from its appearance alone. The rosy hedgehog recognized the titan to be a Qilin from one of the mythology books at school. But the differences between them were much more drastic. The beast floating before her had a coat of pure white with a grey underbelly that went along with the grey markings stretched back to its elongated head. The creatures golden hooves perfectly matched the wheel enclosed on its torso, which seemed rather strange to Amy. The giant's massive green/red eyes peered closer to the heroes and Amy could see Jak twitching to reach his Morph Gun. But he soon realized his near miss when the Precursors finally found their voices.

"Oh, mighty Arceus!" The Leader Ottsel shouted with glee. "It fills us with great joy to be in your presence once more!"

"Arceus?" Amy repeated; her mouth felt dry all of a sudden. "THE Arceus?"

"The very same." Arceus, leader of the Higher Powers, nodded. "I have been watching you for quite some time, Amelia. The Higher Powers had allows known that you were destined for something special." The pink hedgehog blushed embarrassing before the titan set his sights on Jak. "As for you, Son of Damas. We were uncertain of your fate, but we are grateful for your decision. Your life has been plagued with hardships and suffering, yet your heart refused to accept the temptations of evil. After much deliberation, the Higher Powers have passed judgment."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" Daxter stammered timidly.

"For all your pain, you must be rewarded." Arceus said kindly, earning a surprised gesture from the Eco Warrior. "Ask what you wish and we will grant it so long as it is within our power."

"Well…there is one thing." Jak said hesitantly. "Could you…bring my father back?"

"I am…truly sorry, child." Arceus said earnestly. "But Damas' time had come and we cannot interfere with such matters that had already been fated by Kingdom Hearts." The green-haired hero hanged his head in defeat; he should have expected this. "But before he died, we granted your father on last gift: you. With his last breathe, he realized that you were his son and died happily knowing that you had grown up to be a brave man and loved you until the end."

Though he didn't seem to visibly express it, Amy could feel Jak's spirits rise exponentially. His father loved him in the end – that's all that really mattered.

"Hey! What about me?" Daxter exclaimed outrageously; not fully realizing the dangers of speaking against a god. "I when through a lot a crap because this Precursor junk! Where's my reward?"

"Very well." Arceus said with a deep scowl. "What do you want?"

"Hmm…" Daxter hummed thoughtfully. "How 'bout a snazzy pair of pair of pants…" He pointed back to the Precursors. "Like those guys over there."

Everyone in the core rolled their eyes at that one. He could ask for anything in the universe and all he wanted was a pair of pants – he never was the brightest bulb in the bunch. But the leader of the Higher Powers kept to his word and the golden ring around his body radiated with a brief glow. And the next thing he knew, Daxter was wearing a pair of navy-blue jeans with a third leg specifically made to comfort his fuzzy tail.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Daxter cheered.

"At least he'll finally shut up." Jak laughed.

"And now for you, Amelia." Arceus said sternly as he confronted the rosy hedgehog. "And greater destiny lies before you and your friends wait at the end of the road. The Four Paths remain scatter, but destiny has foreseen their inevitable union in the near future. You must prepare yourself, Keyblade Wielder of Light."

Time seemed to stop for Amy. Hearing those powerful words from the leader of the Higher Powers himself seemed to carry a powerful weight on the hedgehog's shoulders. Knowing Espio and Sonic were Keyblade Wielders was obvious – they had the skill and courage to be accepted by the legendary weapons. But her? When was the last time Amy had ever shown the slightest chance of even coming close to holding one? Then again…there was the time her heart lied dormant within Sonic during the previous year. But did that even count?

"This…this can't be right…" Amy shook her head. "I…I can't be a…a…"

"I know you are scared and confused for now." Arceus said kindly. "But the Path of Light has chosen you as the most worthy to wield its power. And no matter how much you try to deny it, you will have to come to terms with your destiny." He eyes dropped down to the edge of the platform, effortlessly summoning a vortex of light. "This portal will take you to wherever Kingdom Hearts lead you. In due time, it will lead you to your friends."

"But…" Amy said nervously.

"Don't worry about it, Amy." Jak said supporting, slapping a hand on her shoulder. "I know you don't agree now, but you're stronger than you think. Give it time – it'll all work out."

"Yeah!" Dexter cheered. "Just remember what Orange Lightning taught ya!"

Unfortunately, Amy didn't have the opportunity to slap the orange weasel upside the head as Jak beat her to the punch. Despite the faith of the Higher Power leader and her friends, Amy just couldn't imagine herself as a Keyblade Wielder. Maybe the Kingdom Hearts made a mistake. But whether she liked it or not, Amy knew she couldn't pass up a chance to catch up with her friend again. The pink hedgehog approached the white vortex hesitantly and after taking once last glance at her new friends, she dissolved into the blank abyss.

* * *

"Oh, my head." Amy groaned.

The rosy princess didn't know where she was or how she got there, just that special travel can be very painful unless you brought an extra set of pillows. As her vision slowly began to readjust, Amy soon learned that she was lying unceremoniously in the middle of the floor with a blue blob buzzing around her head. It took a moment for her brain to register the fact that the blob was just Cheese, who had followed her through the wormhole. With an exaggerated groan, Amy pushed herself into a sitting position and shook her head free from the dizziness cluttering around her skull. You'd thing the Higher Powers would invest in a travel plan that didn't require barf bags.

"You ok?" A gruff voice asked.

Amy's eyes snapped wide – she wasn't alone. After everything she's been through in the past four hours alone, it wasn't surprising that the pink princess was cautious when confronting her visitors. Thankfully, they seemed harmless enough. Amy eventually discovered that she had been resting on the floor of a littered warehouse surrounded by three characters close to her age. One was a red echidna at least a few years older, a white bat roughly older than him, and a twin-tailed fox a few years her junior. The trio had held their own bemused expression as they tried to make sense of her sudden appearance.

"You and that fairy came flying out of a hole in the wall." Tails explained curiously. "You nearly gave us heart attacks."

* * *

**The final stretch of Amy's journey is drawing to a close. How will the appearance of the Kingdom Knights affect the outcome of this quest? What new plans occurred between the Order and the Seekers? And is Amy capable of carrying the weight of the Keyblade of Light? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**


	42. Amy's Amazing Adventure, Part 4

**Kingdom Hearts II: Sonic Chronicles**

OC's © original creators

Chapter Forty: Amy's Amazing Adventure, Part 4

Soleanna had finally become a point of interest after the weeks of silence following Sonic's awakening. Nothing interesting had happened in the City of Water since the Nobody's first appearance…until a pink hedgehog and her floating fairy literally dropped out of nowhere. The three members of members were settled in their usual places in the cluttered warehouse that served as their meeting place. Knuckles was relining in the rafters with his leg swinging over the edge, Tails was leaning over the second story railing, and Rouge had offered a seat on her moth-eaten couch to their guest. It was naturally awkward for Amy to trust someone after she had been hunted by a black-coated man, strangled by her father, attacked by metal-headed monsters, and nearly blown into space. And it's only been two hours. Luckily, Rouge was calm and patiently waited until the pink princess was ready to talk – her boyfriend demanded answers before being smacked upside the head. After exchanging a few laughs with the demanding bat, Amy had voluntarily told her story with Cheese chirping every now and then.

"How the hell do you get involved in an intergalactic war?" Knuckles questioned; his tone was somewhat jealous. "It must have been fun to play the hero and save the world."

"I was more worried about not getting blown up." Amy huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "Believe me, fighting a bunch of giant planet-eating aliens is the last thing on my to-do list."

"Yeah, we don't all have thick skulls like you, Knux." Tails snickered.

"Hey…" Knuckles said warningly.

"Just ignore them." Rouge advised, patting her new friend's shoulder. "Trust me; this is the most intelligent conversation they've had in a while." She promptly ignored their defiant boasts. "So after you blew Errol into space dust and destroyed the Dark Maker's ship, then what happened?"

"Well, we went back to the Precursor...place." Amy continued lamely; Cheese chirped dryly. "That's when Arceus showed up – he's one of those Higher Powers I told you about earlier." She added at the confused expressions on their faces. "He said that Jak was a real hero and some other…things. Then next thing I know, I wake up here with the world's biggest migraine."

"That was kinda anticlimactic." Tails commented disappointedly.

"This isn't a movie, Tails." Rouge scolded; the two-tailed fox moaned pathetically. "Amy's been through a lot. I think the least we could do is make sure she's comfortable until we figure out hat to do next."

"Hey, you're a friend of Sonic's, right." Knuckles asked as he sat up; Amy nodded surprisingly. "You're not the only one that's been waiting on that nutcase. Maybe if you stick around long enough, he's bound to show up at some point."

"If you think so." Amy said uncertainly.

"Hate to cut the party plans short."

That one literally came out of nowhere…again. The Kingdom Knights snapped their heads back and forth, being unable to recognize the tone or where it was coming from. Amy wished she could be just as forgetful. Rouge nearly slipped off the end of the couch when a vortex of absolute darkness ripped across the warehouse wall. The pink princess instantly jumped off the moth-eaten furniture with her fist raised defensively with Cheese trying – and failing – to make himself look brave. She never doubted for a second that it would Terro emerging from the darkness. His expressing seemed confident like he had been expecting her for some time. The Kingdom Knights, snapping out of their initial shock, raised themselves protectively against the intruder.

"What took you so long, Amy?" Terro said casually. "I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't show."

"How did you know I'd be here?" Amy questioned sternly.

"This wouldn't be the first time I found something missing here." Terro said cryptically, folding his arms with a smirk. "I told you before, princess: we both have friends that we both miss."

"Listen, pointy-ears!" Knuckles said scathingly; Terro and Rouge glanced over him disapprovingly. "If Amy didn't want to go with you back on the islands, she definitely doesn't want to go with you now!"

"You told them about the other worlds?" Terro said teasingly, waving a finger to the princess. "That's a no-no, little lady. We're gonna have a long talk after we get you settled."

"If you want to get to Amy…" Tails said bravely with his namesakes twisting over one another. "You're gonna have to get through us!"

The Deceptive Rogue scoffed like they weren't even to be bothered with. And he proved to be right. After taking his first step towards the pink hedgehog, Knuckles dropped from his placed in the rafters and dived for Terro. The crimson bat effortlessly caught the flying fist in his hand and nonchalantly tossed the echidna aside. Tails appeared as the second line of defense by flying over head with his twin tails, dropping down with his feet thrusted forward. Once again, Terro showed his prowess by spinning around on one heel and kicking the fox child into a pyramid of box on the opposite side of the warehouse. Now all that remained between him and his target was a female of his own species. Simple enough. Rouge tried to defend herself by performing a swift roundhouse kick to the older male's head. Unfortunately, the Deceptive Rogue caught the younger girl by her ankle without flinching and swept his foot across the ground, kicking against her remaining leg. As to be expected, Rouge was thrown off balance and dropped to the floor. Amy staggered backwards into the moth-eaten couch – her confidence had diminished.

"Well, that was fun for a while." Terro said jokingly, overshadowing the pink princess. "But we're on a busy schedule and I already have enough problems with the boss lady. Let's go."

"No, get away from me!" Amy screamed. The Deceptive Rogue placed a firm grip over the hedgehog's wrist, forcefully tugged her back to the Corridors of Darkness. "I said let go! Knuckles, Rouge!"

But the Kingdom Knights were in no position to be helping anybody, still disoriented. No more interruptions, no more interference. Terro was gonna drag this whiny brat back to ZoN and then leave with Kumori before the shadowy leader decided to have another mood swing. The eighth member of the Order had pulled the pink hedgehog into the dark vortex, unknowingly allowing Cheese to slip through before closing the passage behind them.

* * *

The scene alternates to the void between worlds that served its purpose for direct transport between worlds. Amy recognized the Corridors of Darkness from her last journey to Haven City. Though, for a moment, she did wonder why such a lightly-colored place would be considered dark. She shook her head of that pointless thought. Amy was more concerned over the black-coated man dragging her through the tunnel by her wrist, which was starting to become sore under his grip. The pink princess was dragging her feet against the nonexistent floor and fighting for her arm back, which only resulted in a rich-blue bruise forming on the joint. Terro sighed irritably – or he would if he had a heart.

"Can you calm down for two seconds and let me explain?" Terro growled in annoyance.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Amy grunted, tugging back again. "You want me because of Sonic and Espio."

"That's true." Terro mused as they stopped in the middle of the Corridor. "But there're a lot of things you don't know about. The thing is – AUGH!"

The Deceptive Rogue had turned to confront his prisoner, which had resulted in his own undoing. When the opportunity presented itself, Amy had pulled out every woman's ace in the hole: a kick below the belt. Being a Nobody only meant that their hearts were no longer present. But the same rule didn't apply to…other things. The pink princess was torn between sighing in relief as the bat released her and laughing herself hysterical at the Order member's misfortune. So, she opted for a third option. While Terro dropped to his knees and doubled over in pain, the hedgehog female took the chance to run in the opposite direction, most likely hoping to find her way back to Soleanna.

"This is…not funny…" Terro moaned deeply.

Let's just leave him to wallow in his own pity. Meanwhile, Amy was running as fast as she possibly could under the circumstances, nursing her bruised joint with her other hand. After what seemed like twenty minutes of desperate pacing, she finally allowed herself to stop when the crimson bat was no longer in view. Amy had managed to escape, but now another problem presented itself: getting back home. Just like her last journey through the passageway, the 'walls' were cluttered with hundreds of pictures gliding over one another, each one depicting a different world. The pink hedgehog then spent the remainder of her time look through each rift for the Destiny Islands with limited success. The closest thing she could find to her friends featured the hero was a red-and-blue hedgehog running away from a white echidna girl that seemed extremely pissed. Maybe she should try another one? The Princess of Hollow Bastion walked forward with her eyes surveying the multitude of passage ways, not noticing where she was going until she bumped into something. For a brief moment, Amy worried that Terro had finally caught up with her. But when looked up, she found a shadowy character wearing one of the black coats, but it wasn't Terro or even Mephiles. The newcomer was slightly hunched and her blood-red claws were barely visible beneath the sleeves. Amy could feel her heart racing four times faster. Could this really be…?

"What are you doing here?" The creature scolded strongly; she snatched the pink princess by her shoulder. "You are supposed to be safely on your way to Castle Oblivion, not wandering the Corridors of Darkness. It's amazing you haven't converted yet." She turned and trotted down the tunnel, dragging the hedgehog with her. "I swear; ZoN is going to earful when I'm through."

"No! I'm not going anywhere!" Amy said determined, throwing off the creature's claw. "Not until I get some answers!"

"We don't have time for that!" The newcomer hissed. "We have to keep moving before the Order realizes you're here!"

"Then just answer me one thing!" Amy demanded fiercely. "Are you my mom or not!"

The black-coated beast visibly stiffened at the word, not daring herself to look back. After their last meeting with Mephiles, Amy was hell-bent on getting some answers that have always avoided her. She was tired of being left in the dark. The unknown beast turned her shoulder to the rosy rascal, keeping her eyes firmly locked on the invisible floor.

"No…" The creature murmured softly. "You're mother…died…a long time ago."

"You're lying." Amy said softly.

The pink hedgehog couldn't explain it, but she always knew when someone wasn't telling the truth. Maybe it was because she was one of the Princesses of Hearts – she could feel the hearts of others. The black-coated creature made no effort to deny the claim, nor did she back away as Amy settled herself in front of the stranger. She hesitantly took hold of either side of the mystery woman's hood, uncertain of what she would see, but was determined to find out. The pink princess quickly threw the hood backwards and tentatively stepped away for a better look. The black-coated female resembled every feature of the Neo Shadow Heartless she had seen during Mephiles' control of Hollow Bastion, but was cherry-red skin with and amethyst-purple eyes in contrast to the typical black and yellow. Lily Rose, the first artificial Heartless and Amy's mother. The Mother Heartless continued to drop her gaze below, unable to witness the fear that had obviously taken her daughter.

"Amy…I…"

The Seeker could not bring herself to finish, but not because her own pity. Unexpectedly, Amy threw herself at the crimson Heartless, snaking her arms around its slender body. Lily seemed somewhat surprised, but not much more than expected. It wasn't too shocking that the pink hedgehog was so easily accepting of her mother's appearance – she was a Princess of Heart, after all. But bringing herself to return the feelings was the most difficult part for Lily. Just looking over her daughter's shoulder, the Heartless Mother could only see the jagged nails that could rip her little girl's flesh. Outwardly, she was no different than the monsters she despised so much. Lily resolved herself to merely patting her daughter's shoulder, which seemed to be enough for the younger female.

"Mama…" Amy murmured.

"It's all right, Amy." Lily whispered softly. "I'm here…I'm here."

"How sentimental." The moment was officially ruined. Mother and daughter pulled apart as another black-coated character entered the Corridors without a noise or whisper. His garments were just as those shared between the Order and the Seekers, but his presence was unwelcoming. "I had hoped to find Terro, but instead I find a Seeker and Princess in one place. Perhaps this is a sign of Kingdom Hearts' favor."

"Mama, who is he?" Amy asked worried.

"I don't know." Lily answered honestly, pushing the girl behind her. "But he's not with us."

"You must be Lily Rose – the first successful experiment." The Order member hissed monotonously. "It was your very existence that has opened the gateway to endless possibly in our quest. By bringing you back, we could better understand the true meaning of the heart."

"Don't act like you believe in your ridiculous goal." Lily seethed. "I know your true ambitions for Kingdom Hearts."

"You do?" The black-coated character hummed, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Please, enlighten me." But the crimson Heartless suddenly took a vow of silence. "Resilient as well as ignorant. Whatever information you have concerning the Superior's goal will be revealed soon enough. In the mean time, I foresee an important role played by both of you in the Order's plan."

"Amy, I will try to distract him as long as possible." Lily whispered secretively. "When he's not looking, I want you to run back and find Terro – he'll take you to safety."

"But what about…?" Amy started.

"This is no time to argue!" Lily snapped; Amy staggered back fearfully. "I'm sorry, but my concern for your safety outweighs my own." Amy looked to be on the brink of tears, which is not the way her mother wanted to leave. "Listen, I know it may seem cruel, but this won't be the last time we meet. I promise, I'll find you soon enough."

"An absurd notion." The girls only realized that the Order member was listening in on their conversation. "Filling your daughter's mind with false hopes – you understand the circumstance on this conflict. You and I both now that this will be the last time you two will ever meet."

"Mama…" Amy murmured.

"Amy, go!" Lily screamed.

The Heartless Mother gave no room for argument before she dropped down to all fours and scrambled across the tunnel. The shadowed Order member remained still and collected – he had no heart to experience fear or worry. Lily reached within a few feet of the Nobody in a matter of moments before surprising him by leaping over his head. With a menacing scowl in her eyes, Lily landed steadily behind her opponent and leapt forward with her claws slashing across the air. She didn't fully understand who she was dealing with. The Nobodies have no hearts to cloud their minds, which allowed the Order member to predict her movements and block the strike with his summoned weapon. Said weapon was a venomous-green shield the size of his arm with a row of jagged edges on the outer rim with the symbol of the Order stamped in the center. Lily's eyes went wide at the sight of the tool – she was in way over her head. The defensive Nobody pushed his weight against the shield, throwing Lily back by several feet.

"Now do you understand what you have set yourself against?" The Order member hissed, raising his weapon. "It would only be sensible to surrender at a moment's haste. Save yourself and your daughter from further suffer."

"I never thought the third-in-command would chase us personally." Lily leered. She walked in a circle around the black-coated Nobody like a lion hunting its prey. "But then again, third-in-command is not something to be proud of. I suppose the Superior find you inadequate for the bigger jobs."

"You words would have its effect if I had a heart." The Order member proclaimed. "I did not come here under the Superior's orders, but for my own purposes."

"Your own purposes?" Lily repeated. "What are you planning?"

"I have long realized that the Superior has his own agenda." The Order member replied. "What his is planning, I do not understand. That is why I must set the Order in the proper direction."

"You're planning a coup." Lily mused. "Very brave to go against someone like the Superior."

"I have accepted that my own abilities are insufficient." The Order member admitted, turning to face the Heartless. "But like the Seekers, Order XIII has been manipulating the Keyblade Master of Twilight to our advantage. He is controlled by his emotions and providing the right…incentive will force him to follow."

The Heartless Mother had a fairly certain idea for his use of incentive. And unfortunately, that forced her to realize that the Nobody's real target was still within the vicinity. Amy had initially planned to follow her mother's orders, but the mention of a Keyblade Master was something she could resist listening. Keyblade Master of Twilight….does he mean Sonic or Espio? Lily grumbled under her breath – Amy was just as stubborn as her father. A brief gust passed by before Lily realized that the defensive Nobody was making an attempt for her daughter. The shadowy warrior snatched Amy by the collar of her shirt, effortlessly lifting her off the ground like some rag doll. Thankfully, the unknown Nobody was forced to release the pink hedgehog when Lily tackled him from the side, dropping Amy on her hindquarters. She was considered investing in protective padding. The black-coated fighters tumbled across the corridor for a moment before the Order member was able to lift his feet against Lily's torso and throw her off. The Heartless Mother caught herself and flipped backwards to land safely on her feet at the same time the shadowy Nobody returned standing. Given the savage instincts granted by her species, Lily dived forward with her claws swinging across the air, which were inconveniently deflected by the warrior's shield. After a particularly wild swipe, the defensive Nobody twirled around Lily's left side and stopped behind the Heartless before smacking the face of his shield into the back on her head. The Heartless Mother dropped like a ton of lead, suddenly overcome with a wave of nausea.

"Even as a Heartless, you can still feel it." The Order member said monotonously. "The venom that courses through you veins, slowly destroying you from the inside."

"You…poisoned me?" Lily asked weakly, attempt to lift her arms. "But…when did… you…?"

"That moment when you attacked me to save your daughter." The Order member answered simply. "I had anticipated your maternal instincts to override you common sense, leaving a moment of weakness open. When you attacked me, you touched an exposed piece of my skin when my sleeve was pushed up – that's when the infection began."

"Now I remember." Lily, grunted, finally managing to flip on her back. "Your ability allows you to secrete toxin through your skin that injects itself into anyone that comes into contact."

"I see the Seekers are very knowledgeable in our abilities." The Order member hissed thoughtfully. "Another reason to punish Terro for his crimes. But first…" He looked to the right, finding Amy trying to crawl away unnoticed. "I must level the playfield."

"Amy!" Lily cried.

The Princess of Hearts had been diligently following her mother's commands and tried to sneak away during the brawl. But her mother's warnings proved to be a bit of a distraction. Amy curiously gazed over her shoulder at the moment the venomous warrior had unlatched his shield and tossed it across the tunnel. A natural instinct of fear glued Amy to her place, which was not the brightest thing for someone who wanted to live. But by the laws of fate, the pink princess would indeed live to see another day. By some unnamed miracle, Lily the Heartless had managed to regain enough strength and intercepted the shield's course. And in the moment following, the Nobody's shield stabbed itself into the ground just a few centimeters away from Amy's left hand. Lily had managed to redirect the weapon, but resulted in the saw-bladed weapon slicing through the Heartless' chest. The last thing Amy saw from her mother was sorrowful expression in her amethyst eyes evaporating into a cloud of bright-red smoke. The Princess of Heart remained rooted in her place, trying to process everything in her mind.

"M...mama?" Amy said; her breathing was heavy.

"How unfortunate." The shield pried itself from the nonexistent floor and glided back to its master. "I had only intended to injury so that you wouldn't escape, but I'm afraid that creature had other plans."

"She wasn't a creature." Amy mumbled, lowering her head so that her teary eyes were unseen. "She was my mama."

"Yes…" The Order member responded in an impassive tone. "I had hoped that by researching her, we could better understand the existence of the Heartless and the inner workings of the heart. But still…" He cast a shadow over the miserable princess. "I cannot truly say that beast ever had a heart."

This was the final straw. She was ripped from both her homes, lost her friends, nearly killed on four occasions today, lost her mother, and her butt was extremely sore. Amy had enough of this crap. The pink hedgehog was incapable of residing any darkness in her heart, but that did not mean she was incapable of feeling emotions that derived from it. The hooded warrior stepped backwards silently and waited as the princess slowly lifted herself from the ground, shielding her expression. Amy didn't know what compelled her – she briefly wondered if Sonic ever felt the same way – but the pink hedgehog held her arm forward and closed her fist in the air. A caught a brief glimpse of light out of the corner of her eyes and her hand felt heavier than normal. Looking up, Amy didn't show any shock or surprise when she found herself hold her own Keyblade. It wasn't that unexpected – Arceus had already warned her. The handle was rich-blue with one side of the hilt resembling a breaking wave as seen on the Islands with the other half the same color as sand – it was like a beach. The shaft went from happy-yellow to deep red in the way a sunset would with a beige vine wrapping around the surface. The teeth of the Keyblade was a bouquet of flowers with a single red rose acting as the center piece. And connected to the blade by a red-silken braid was a miniature Paopu Fruit – a symbol of her bond with Sonic and Espio. It was just as Arceus had proclaimed: it was time to embrace her destiny.

"Destiny's Embrace." Amy muttered; her Keyblade was named.

"So it's true." The Order member said monotonously. "You truly are the Keyblade Master of Light – the last of the united Four Paths. The Superior has had his theories about you, but I had never believed them to be true."

"Well, you better believe it, pal." Amy scowled with determination. She took a practice swing with her new acquisition, finding herself favorable of a one-handed grip. Somehow, it just seemed familiar. "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave me and my friends alone!"

"But why would I do that?" The Order member hissed. "The Superior has been particularly interested in the Four Paths and I'm going to find out why." He stepped closer with his hand stretched to the female. "Now come along quietly…"

The villains should learn by now that they never go quietly. Narrowing her eyes with hate, the new Keyblade wielder swatted his hand away and took her first strike with her newest weapon. The venomous Nobody was experienced enough to never let his guard down, swiftly regaining his stance and raising his shield to block the attack. If he had a heart, we would have been stunned. From the first moment Destiny's Embrace made contact with his weapon, the hooded Nobody was thrown off his feet by an unknown force and slid backwards against the nonexistent ground. Amy was equally amazed at the feat when looking between her Keyblade and the hooded murderer on the ground twenty feet away. Did she really do that? The Order member was thinking the same thing as he used his shield to sit up, suddenly becoming very interested with his weapon. There was a deep crack stretched across the Order symbol, like a scar. The shield was forged from Orichalcum – the strongest substance in the universe – and this little girl damaged it.

"Impressive." The Order member said thoughtfully, raising himself to stand. "Now I can understand why the Superior is so interested in the Keyblade. Imagine what would happen if it was placed in the proper hands."

"I think it's good enough where it is." Amy stated, stabbing Destiny's Embrace in his direction. "I'll give you this one chance to give up and let me out of here."

"If I had a heart, this would be the part where I die of laughter." The Order member hissed. "You have no idea what you are up against – what you will be facing in due time. Still…" His voice lowered, but just barely loud enough for her to hear. "If given the chance, you could become as strong as her."

"Huh?" Amy piped confused.

It happened so fast that Amy didn't have time to think about it. The Order member had managed to cover the distance between them before the new Keyblade Master could blink and drilled his fist into the hedgehog's stomach. Amy gasped with wide eyes as the feeling spread through every nerve in her body and a vomiting sensation started to climb up in her throat. Thankfully, she managed to swallow it down. Destiny's Embrace swung loosely in her hands until it clattered on the ground and disintegrated into the light, signaling Amy's unconscious state. The hooded warrior removed his hand from her abdomen, allowing the hedgehog girl to drop with a pathetic thud. He released his weapon into nothingness and peered down to the fallen princess.

"Just because one has a Keyblade…" The Order member said lowly. "Does not mean they are capable of using it."

The venomous Nobody threw out his hand, summoning a rift in the Corridors of Darkness. Through the open portal, he could see the castle of Order XIII and the heart-shaped moon forming in the background. The time was drawing closer. He lowered himself to grasp the pink princess by the back of her shirt and dragged her through the vortex, closing the rift behind them.

* * *

**And so comes the conclusion of Amy's journey. Will her newfound talent help her escape from the Order? Will Sonic be able to find her in time? And what actions will the mysterious Seekers take to fight back against their enemies? Find out on the next Sonic Chronicles!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

Next world:

A) Karda Nui

B) Hogwarts

VOTE NOW!


	43. Help! SOS! Mayday!

**Due to a lack of inspiration over here, Kingdom Hearts is on temporary hiatus. Don't worry, it's not cancelled - i will come back to this one. If anyone actually cares, that is?**

**On another note, I've decided to rethink some of the ideas for the Kingdom Hearts Series such as getting rid of the Hogwarts world. Or at least for KHII - there will be a poll below. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions they'd like to share, feel free to contact me via PM. You thoughts will be most appreciated.**

**Sincerely,**

**Babylon Sky Hawk (BSH)**

**1) Karda Nui**

**2) Dragon Realms**


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